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MEMOIRS 



OF 



JOHN FREDERIC OBE 

PASTOR OF WALDBACH, 



IN 



THE BAN DE LA ROCHE. 



PREPARE!) FOR THE SUNDAY SCHOOL UNION OF THE^ 
METHODIST* EPISCOPAL CHURCH. 



REVISED BY THE EDITORS. 









NEW-YOR 

PUBLISHED BY G. LANE & P. P. SANDFORD, 

For the Sunday School Union of the Methodist Episcopal Chu^ch^ 
at the Conference Office, 200 Mulberry-street. 



•**>, 



/. Collord, Printer. 
1841. 



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7*5 /^Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1841, by 

£ ' FG^Lane, &. P. P. Sandford, in the Clerk's Office of the District 
•/i Z Court of the Southern District of New-York. 



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CONTENTS, 



CHAPTER I. 

Preliminary remarks — Account of the Ban de la Roche 
— Its state previous to M. Stouber's time — Stouber's 
exertions there Page 9 

CHAPTER II. 

Oberlin's birth and childhood — Instances of his early 
benevolence — His act of self-dedication — Influence over 
others — Arrival in the Ban de la Roche 18 

CHAPTER III. 

Oberlin's first impressions on reaching Waldbach — State 
of the parish — Improvements needed — Opposition mani- 
fested by the peasantry — Correspondence with M. Stou- 
ber — Letters from the latter — His marriage — Improve- 
ments in the condition of the roads — Agricultural im- 
provements, &c. 26 

j 
CHAPTER IV. 

Oberlin's address to his parishioners on the commence- 
ment of a new year — Erection of a new school-house in 



b MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

the Ban de la Roche — Progress of civilization — Four other 
school-houses erected — Introduction of infant schools, 
under the care of governesses — Public schools — Weekly 
assembling of the children at Waidbach. to receive reli- 
gious instruction — Establishment of a circulating library — 
Almanack — Christian Society established in 1782 — Abro- 
gation of that society Page 46 



CHAPTER V. 

Death of Mrs. Oberlin — Its effect upon Oberlin's mind — 
Louisa Schepler becomes his housekeeper — Letter from 
the latter — Letter, taken from a German magazine printed 
at Tubingen, containing an account of Oberlin and his 
family, in the year 1793 — Death of his eldest son, Fre- 
deric 61 



CHAPTER VI. 

L'nmolested state of the Ban de la Roche during the 
period of the revolution — Oberlin's generous renunciation 
of his own interests for the sake of his parishioners — His 
school for the children of foreigners — His sentiments re- 
specting the payment of tithes — Letter containing a plan 
for their disbursement — His influence in exciting a spirit 
of Christian charity among his people — Account of Sophia 
Bernard, ccc. — Oberlin becomes a correspondent of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society — Letters addressed by 
him to members of the London committee — Mode of col- 
lecting subscriptions and donations for charitable purposes 
in the Ban de la Roche — Letter to his scholars 78 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 



CHAPTER VIL 



Henry Oberlin's removal to Riga — His sister Henriet- 
ta's marriage — Their return to Waldbach — Letter from 
Oberlin to P. J. Heisch, Esq. — Letter from Henry Ober- 
lin to ditto — Mr. Legrand's settlement in the Ban de la 
Roche — Introduction of cot ton- spinning ; silk riband ma- 
nufactory, &c. — Termination of a long-impending lawsuit 
— Henry Oberlin's death — His father's resignation on that 
occasion, displayed in a letter to Mr. Heisch.. . Page 108 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Medal presented to Oberlin by the Royal Agricultural 
Society of Paris — Oberlin's private character — Mr. Owen's 
letter, containing an account of a Ban de la Roche sabbath 
— Oberlin's ministry — sermons — ministerial labours, v &c. 
— His paternal influence over his flock — Questions ad- 
dressed to his parishioners — Circulars 123 



CHAPTER IX. 

Oberlin's pastoral visits — Interview between Dr. and 
Mrs. Steinkopff and the governess of Bellefosse — Their 
visit to the cottage of Madeleine Kriiger ; also to that of 
Sophia Bernard — Letter written by Mrs. C. during a visit 
to the Ban de la Roche in the summer of 1820 — Letter 
from Mrs. Rauscher to the Paris Bible Society, containing 
an account of the death of Sophia Bernard, &c. — Amount 
of the sums raised at different times at Waldbach, in 
support of various charitable institutions 161 



8 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 



CHAPTER X. 

Oberlin's last illness and death — Letter respecting Loui- 
sa Schepler found after his decease — His funeral — Prayer 
delivered upon that occasion — Fragment of an address to 
his parishioners — Conclusion Page 182 



MEMOIRS 

OP 

JOHN FREDERIC OBERLIN. 



CHAPTER I. 

Preliminary remarks — Account of the Ban de la Roche 
— Its state previous to M. Stouber's time — Stouber's 
exertions there. 

The memoirs of an individual, whose whole 
life has been devoted to pious and disinterested 
exertions for the temporal and spiritual good 
of mankind, have not unfrequently proved the 
means of awakening the desires, and strength- 
ening the resolutions of others to follow him in 
his career of benevolence. 

Such an individual was John Frederic 
Oberlin, a person whose indefatigable efforts 
for upward of fifty years, to benefit the simple 
villagers who constituted his flock, entitle him 
to universal esteem and admiration. The writer 
earnestly hopes that the recital of his labours 
may, under the divine blessing, tend to confirm 
the zealous and encourage the weak, and lead 
all who hear it to catch a portion of that sacred 
glow by which he was himself animated. 



10 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

His character, as displayed in the uniform 
tenor of his life, presented a remarkable com- 
bination of varied excellences ; for while much 
exalted sanctity and intrepid zeal were conspi- 
cuous, an unwearied ardour in doing good, and 
a habitual willingness to renounce his own in- 
terests to promote the well-being of his fellow- 
creatures, were equally evident. In addition 
to this, his extreme simplicity, conscientious 
integrity, sweetness of temper, and refinement 
of manner, caused him to be both ardently 
loved and sincerely revered ; while his indus- 
try, his agricultural skill, his knowledge of 
rural and domestic economy, and the energy 
with which he carried his plans into effect the 
moment he was convinced of their utility, ren- 
dered him not only an example but a blessing 
to the people among whom he resided, and 
afforded a delightful proof of the advantages 
that may accrue from a union of secular and 
spiritual duties. 

Before I proceed with my narrative, it will 
be proper to present the reader with some de- 
scription of the Ban de la Roche, the scene of 
Oberlin's long and useful labours, and to state 
what had been previously effected there by his 
predecessor, M. Stouber, a Lutheran minister 
of congenial spirit with himself. 

The Ban de la Roche, or Steinthal,* derives 
its name from a castle called La Roche, around 

* Steinthal is the German name for the Ban de la 
Roche. Its literal signification is, the Valley of Stone.~-~ 
Dr. Steinkopff. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 11 

which the Ban, or district, extends. It is a 
mountainous canton in the north-east of France, 
between Alsace and Lorraine, forming part of 
the declivities and western ramifications of the 
Haut Champ, or Champ de Feu, an isolated 
range of mountains, detached by a deep valley 
from the eastern boundary of the chain of the 
Vosges. It consists of two parishes : the one 
is Rothau ; the other includes three churches, 
and five hamlets, which are almost exclusively 
inhabited by Lutherans. One of these hamlets 
is Waldbach, at which Oberlin resided on ac- 
count of its central situation. It stands on the 
acclivity of the Champ de Feu,* (a mountain 
rising three thousand six hundred feet above 
the level of the sea, and evidently of volcanic 
origin,) and at the height of one thousand eight 
hundred feet : the road from Strasburg thither 
lies through the towns of Molsheim, Mutzig, 
and Schirmeck. Behind the little town of 
Schirmeck, the extensive and fertile valley in 
which it is situated separates into two smaller 
ones ; the shaded vale of Framont on the right, 
and the Ban de la Roche, of which Rothau is 
the first and principal parish, on the left. The 
approach to the latter place is very romantic : 
the road winds down the side of a steep preci- 
pice, crosses a mountain torrent in the southern 
part of the valley, and rises again until the cot- 
tages of the peasantry, embosomed in planta- 
tions of pine, or under overhanging rocks, be- 
come visible. 

* Field of fire. 



12 MEMOIRS, OF OBERLIN. 

The hamlet of Foudai, about two miles dis- 
tant from Rothau, occupies an almost equally 
picturesque situation. It is succeeded by Wal- 
bach, whose tapering spire and straw-thatched 
cottages are surrounded by orchards of pear 
and cherry trees, and by the intermingled foli- 
age of the alder, the ash, and the sallow. The 
temperature varies according to the height and 
position of the districts on the summits of the 
mountains : the climate is as intensely cold as 
at Quebec or St. Petersburgh ; though in the 
valleys below it is mild as is the climate of 
Virginia and North Carolina. The winter 
months usually commence in September ; and 
the snow remains undissolved until the follow- 
ing May or June. The products of the country 
vary with its elevation ; the highest parts are, 
however, cultivated, though they yield so little 
that it is said the wife can carry home in her 
apron all the hay her husband has mown in a 
long morning. The harvest differs in time as 
well as in quantity, being later as you ascend. 

This territory had been, during many years, 
the seat of bloody conflicts, which had almost 
rendered it an uninhabitable desert. About 
eighty or a hundred families earned a scanty 
subsistence, but, being destitute of all the com- 
forts of life, they lived in extreme misery and 
degradation ; liberty of conscience was, how- 
ever, ensured to them, and when M. Stouber 
arrived among them, and began to preach the 
glad tidings of the gospel, he found that he 
might do so without molestation. There were, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 13 

nevertheless, many obstacles to impede the 
progress of truth, in consequence of the ex- 
treme wretchedness and deplorable ignorance 
of the people. 

The following anecdote will convey some 
idea of the state of the parish on his first arrival 
there. Desiring to be shown the principal 
school-house, he was conducted into a miser- 
able cottage, where a number of children were 
crowded together without any occupation, and 
in so wild and noisy a state that it was with 
some difficulty he could gain any reply to his 
inquiries for the master. 

" There he is," said one of them, as soon as 
silence could be obtained, pointing to a withered 
old man, who lay on a little bed in one corner 
of the apartment. 

" Are you the schoolmaster, my good friend ?V 
inquired Stouber. 

" Yes, sir." 

" And what do you teach the children ?" 

" Nothing, sir." 

" Nothing ! — how is that ?" 

" Because," replied the old man, with charac- 
teristic simplicity, " I know nothing myself." 

" Why, then, were you instituted school- 
master ?"' 

" Why, sir, I had been taking care of the 
Waldbach pigs for a great number of years, 
and when I got too old and infirm for that em- 
ployment, they sent me here to take care of the 
children." 

The schools in the other villages were of 



14 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

the same description. The schoolmasters were 
shepherds, who in summer tended their flocks, 
and in winter taught the little they knew to 
the children. Many of them could not read 
fluently, and very few knew how to write ; 
they taught without method, and their schools 
w r ere not even supplied with elementary books. 

Stouber's first step, therefore, was to procure 
teachers who knew their duties, and were will- 
ing and competent to perform them. This was 
no easy task, however, for the office had sunk 
into such contempt that no capable person was 
willing to undertake it. This difficulty he was 
ingenious enough to obviate. " Well, then," 
said he, " let us have no schoolmasters, since 
that would not become people in your situation 
in life; but allow me to select the most pro- 
mising of our young men, and make them 
superintendents or regents of the schools." 
To this proposition they readily assented. 

He next arranged a spelling and reading 
book for the schools, which was printed at the 
expense of a benevolent gentleman at Stras- 
burg, who also contributed toward raising the 
salaries of the teachers. 

The next want to be supplied was that of a 
school-house. Stouber applied to the mayor 
of Strasburg for permission to procure timber 
from the adjacenr forests ; which, after some 
hesitation, was granted him, and a log school- 
house was erected under his superintendence. 
He had now to contend with the ignorance and 
prejudice of his people, who feared that more 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 15 

liberal qualifications on the part of the teachers 
would prove an increase of expense to them. 
They opposed also the introduction of the spell- 
ing-book which Stouber had prepared, from the 
fear that it contained heresy, or divination, 
These objections soon yielded to the rapid ad- 
vancement which the children made ; and many 
who had violently opposed the new system, 
ashamed to be left behind, came forward and 
begged to be instructed also. A system of 
regular tuition for adults on Sunday, and on the 
long winter evenings, was established in addi- 
tion to the schools. 

Another great object of this good minister's 
solicitude was, to distribute the word of God, 
of which the people of his parish knew but lit- 
tle. Having procured fifty copies of the Bible 
at Basle, he (to make them go further) divided 
each Bible into three parts, which he had bound 
in strong parchment. These volumes he placed 
in the schools, with permission to the scholars 
to carry them home with them. As soon as 
the people could be persuaded that these thin 
volumes were the word of God, (for they had 
been used to consider the Bible as a very big 
book,) they received them gladly. Even the 
Catholics, notwithstanding the prohibition of 
their .priests, secretly read them with delight ; 
and most cheering results followed this distri- 
bution of the sacred Scriptures. 

A blessing also attended Stouber's discourses 
in the pulpit, for they were admirably adapted 
to the capacity and situation of his hearers. 



16 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

He endeavoured in the simplest language to 
lead their minds to a knowledge of the happi- 
ness enjoyed by the people of God, and the 
means of attaining that happiness ; and to con- 
vince them that, notwithstanding the poverty 
of their external circumstances, the Almighty 
would protect and bless them if they earnestly 
sought to do his will. He then brought them 
to consider the all-important doctrines of the 
cross, that we can only be regenerated by the 
influences of the Holy Spirit, and that we must 
rely solely upon the Lord Jesus Christ for par- 
don and redemption. In 1756, when he had 
resided about six years at Waldbach, he was 
appointed pastor to the market town of Barr, on 
the other side of the Vosges. His parishioners, 
who, though still wild and uncultivated, had 
begun to feel the value of his instructions, 
expressed the greatest regret at his removal, 
as his intended successor was little more en- 
lightened than his predecessors had been. 

Four years afterward the living again became 
vacant ; and M. Stouber, notwithstanding the 
reproaches and contempt cast upon him by 
many of his friends, who could not understand 
the principle of the love of Christ which con- 
strained him to exchange a very profitable and 
respectable living in a town for a physical and 
moral wilderness, felt impelled to return to his 
beloved Steinthal. The pleasure with which 
this intelligence was circulated through the 
valley was extreme ; the inhabitants of the dif- 
ferent villages, both old and young, went to the 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 17 

top of the mountain which had separated him 
from them, to witness his arrival and to bid him 
welcome with tears of grateful joy. 

It was during the latter part of his residence 
in the Ban de la Roche, that M. Stouber's mi- 
nisterial labours were so peculiarly successful, 
and that, under the blessing of God, a general 
improvement appeared to take place. 

He had resided altogether more than fourteen 
years in this spot, actively engaged in promoting 
the welfare of his flock, when he had the afflic- 
tion of losing a wife to whom he was tenderly 
attached, and who, animated by the same spirit 
as her husband, had warmly participated in all 
his labours of love. Three years after this 
melancholy event Stouber was called to the 
occupation of another field of usefulness, and 
his flock at the Ban de la Roche was left with- 
out a pastor. 

Oberlin perceived the emergency of the case ; 
to his benevolent mind the charge of such a 
people was rendered more interesting by the 
misery and moral degradation which had to be 
remedied ; and, leaving a place where the bril- 
liancy of his mental powers might have com- 
manded universal homage, at the call of Provi- 
dence, he chose to succeed M. Stouber in this 
desolate and retired spot. 

2 



18 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN> 



CHAPTER II. 

Oberlin's birth and childhood— Instances of his early 
benevolence — His act of self-dedication — Influence over 
others — Arrival at the Ban de la Roche. 

John Frederic Oberlin was born at Stras- 
burg, on the thirty-first of August, 1740. His 
father was a man of considerable attainments 
and much respectability in that place, and de- 
voted his hours of leisure to the instruction of 
his nine children, all of whom he tenderly 
loved. They in return were devotedly attached 
to him ; it was their pleasure to anticipate his 
wishes, and promote his happiness by every 
means in their power. Though his income 
was very limited, he was in the habit of dividing 
among his children a small sum of money every 
Saturday, to spend as pocket-money ; and the 
following pleasing anecdote in allusion to this 
circumstance is related, as an early trait of the 
little Frederic's character : — His father was in 
the habit of paying off his tradesmen's accounts, 
with great exactness and punctuality, every 
Saturday evening. On these occasions little 
Frederic used to watch the countenance of his 
father, and if it wore a melancholy expression, 
imagining that he was at a loss to meet the 
demands made upon his purse, he would run 
to his savings-box, and return joyfully to empty 
his little store into the hands of his beloved 
parent. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 19 

But this was only one among the thousand 
instances of generosity and benevolence for 
which he was, even from his earliest infancy, 
so peculiarly distinguished. Self-denial ever 
seemed his ruling principle ; and he was never 
so happy as when an opportunity of relieving 
the oppressed or distressed presented itself to 
his notice. I shall mention some more anec- 
dotes of a similar description, because it is in- 
teresting to trace the germ of those dispositions 
which, when ripened into maturity, brought 
forth such remarkable fruits. 

As he was one day crossing the market- 
place, when his little box of savings was nearly 
full, he saw some rude boys knock down a 
basket of eggs which a countrywoman was 
carrying upon her head. The woman was in 
great trouble, when Frederic not only rebuked 
the boys with much spirit, but ran home, 
fetched his box, and presented her with all its 
contents. Another day, he was passing in 
Strasburg market by the stall of an old clothes' 
vender. A poor infirm woman was endeavour- 
ing, without success, to procure an abatement 
in the price of some article she appeared to be 
particularly desirous of purchasing. She want- 
ed two pence to complete the sum demanded, 
and was on the point of leaving the stall from 
her inability to give them. Frederic, pretend- 
ing to be engaged with something else, only 
waited for her retiring, when he slipped the 
two pence into the dealer's hand, and whis- 
pered to him to call back the poor woman and 



20 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

let her have the gown ; and then, without stop- 
ping for her thanks, instantly ran away. 

He, another time, saw a beadle ill-using an 
invalid beggar in the street ; and following the 
impulse of the moment, totally regardless of 
consequences, he placed himself in a spirited 
manner between what he thought the oppressor 
and the oppressed, reproving the former in 
strong terms for his inhumanity. The beadle, 
indignant at such an interruption, wished to ar- 
rest the little fellow ; but the neighbours, who 
knew and loved the boy, came running out of 
their shops to his assistance, and compelled the 
man to desist. A few days afterward he hap- 
pened to be walking in a narrow lane, when he 
saw the same person at a distance. " Shall I 
run away?" thought he to himself. " No : God 
is with me. I relieved the poor man, and why 
should I fear ?" With these reflections he pro- 
ceeded on his way ; and the beadle, smiling at 
him, allowed him to pass unmolested. 

The horror of injustice felt by this little boy 
he owed to the kind care and pious instruction 
of his parents. His mother was an admirable 
woman ; and to her judicious training and vir- 
tuous example he often said he owed his love 
for the things that are excellent, and his desire 
to render himself useful. She endeavoured to 
bring her children up in the nurture and admo- 
nition of the Lord; and would assemble them 
every evening, and while they copied the pic- 
tures their father had prepared for them, she 
read aloud some instructive book, for their 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 21 

benefit. When the hour of separation came, 
the children generally begged for one beautiful 
hymn from dear mamma ; prayer followed, and 
thus their infant steps were guided to Him who 
said, " Suffer little children to come unto me." 

By way of relaxation, Oberlin's father used 
to take the children every Thursday evening 
during the summer months to his family estate 
in the country, where, having tied a drum about 
his waist, he would place his six blooming boys 
in a line, and, preceding them in the capacity 
of a drummer, he would make them go through 
all the military evolutions. To these pastimes, 
perhaps, little Frederic owed his extreme par- 
tiality for military exercises. While quite a 
lad, his knowledge of sieges and battles at- 
tracted the notice of the officers, and he was 
permitted to mingle with the soldiers, and join 
in their exercises. His father, however, having 
destined him for a learned profession, at length 
interfered, telling the young soldier that it was 
time to renounce this child's play for study and 
serious labour ; and Frederic, though of an ar- 
dent and lively temperament, readily coinciding 
with his father's views, entered upon his studies 
with enthusiasm, and soon recovered the time 
which he had lost. 

From his very infancy Oberlin seems to have 
been the subject of divine influence. In one 
of his papers he says, " During my infancy and 
my youth God often vouchsafed to touch my 
heart, and to draw me to himself. He bore 
with me, in my repeated backslidings, with a 



22 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

kindness and indulgence hardly to be ex- 
pressed." Even at a very early age his fre- 
quent prayer was, " Speak, Lord, for thy ser- 
vant heareth. O God, teach me to do thy 
will." 

While Oberlin was a student of theology in 
the university at Strasburg, Dr. Lountz began 
to attract great attention by his preaching : 
Oberlin's mother went to hear him, and was so 
delighted by his powerful manner of proclaim- 
ing a crucified Saviour, and remission of sins 
through his atonement, that she entreated her 
favourite son to accompany her. Though 
warned by his superiors not to go, he com- 
plied with his mother's wishes, and heard with 
such delight the truths of the gospel from the 
lips of Dr. Lountz, that he became a regular 
attendant on his preaching, and was, without 
doubt, strengthened in the resolution he had 
made to devote himself wholly to God. 

At the age of twenty he solemnly renewed 
his baptismal consecration to God, in a written 
covenant which differs but slightly from the 
one written by Dr. Doddridge, and recommend- 
ed by him in his " Rise and Progress."* 

* " I would now urge you to make a solemn surrender 
of yourself to the service of God. Do not only form such 
a purpose in your heart, but expressly declare it in the 
divine presence Do it in express words. And per- 
haps it may be in many cases most expedient, as many 
pious divines have recommended, to do it in writing. Set 
your hand and seal to it, ' that on such a day of such a 
month and year, and at such a place, on full consideration 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 23 

After having completed his studies, Oberlia 
was ordained, but he remained for some years 
without undertaking any pastoral engagement, 
either because he did not feel himself as yet 
sufficiently mature for so responsible a charge, 
or because no situation offered itself, adapted 
to the view which he had formed of his own 
character and suitableness. Like the admirable 
Fletcher,* a man of kindred spirit, who refused 
to undertake the care of a parish because the 
emoluments were too large, and the duty was 
too small, Oberlin wished only for a station 
where he might find ample scope to be useful : 
for, having devoted himself to his Master's 
service, he sought neither worldly distinctions, 
nor worldly honours, but determined to be ac- 
tuated only by the specific and prevailing de- 
sire of pleasing him, and of living to his glory. 
During this interval, which lasted from the 

and serious reflection, you came to this happy resolution, 
that whatever others might do, you would serve the Lord. 1 

" Make the day of the transaction, if you conveniently 
can, a day of secret fasting and prayer ; and when your 
heart is prepared with a becoming awe of the divine Ma- 
jesty, with an humble confidence in his goodness, and an 
earnest desire of his favour, then present yourself on your 
knees before God, and read it over deliberately and so- 
lemnly ; and when you have signed it, lay it by in some 
secure place, where you may review it whenever you 
please ; and make it a rule with yourself to review it, if 
possible, at certain seasons of the year, that you may keep 
up the remembrance of it." — Doddridge 1 s Rise arid Pro- 
gress of Religion in the Soul, chap, xvii, page 343. 

* The Rev. J. W. Fletcher, rector of Madeley, Shrop- 
shire. 



24 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

year 1760 to 1767, he employed himself in 
private teaching, and became domestic tutor to 
the family of the then distinguished surgeon, 
M. Ziegenhagen, of Strasburg. While in 
this situation he acquired that surgical know- 
ledge and acquaintance with medicine, which, 
in his subsequent life, proved so peculiarly use- 
ful, and enabled him to render such eminent 
services to his parishioners. 

In the year 1766, the appointment of a chap- 
laincy in a French regiment was offered to 
Oberlin, and, as the situation promised to open 
a sphere of extensive usefulness, he agreed to 
accept it, and soon afterward left M. Ziegen- 
hagen's employ, and commenced a preparatory 
course of reading. While thus engaged, the 
curacy of the Ban de la Roche became vacant, 
in consequence of M. Stouber's removing to 
Strasburg. Stouber, knowing Oberlin's piety 
and zeal, determined if possible to secure him 
for the vacant post, and with this view re- 
paired to his lodging. 

It was a little attic, up three pair of stairs. 
On opening the door, the first object that caught 
his attention was a small bed, standing in one 
corner of the room, covered with brown paper 
hangings. " That would just suit the Stein- 
thal," said he to himself. On approaching the 
bed, he found Oberlin lying upon it, and suf- 
fering from a violent tooth-ache. He rallied 
him about the simplicity of his curtains, and 
tiae homeliness of his apartment. " And pray," 
continued he, after having taken a survey round 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 25 

the room, " what is the use of that little iron 
pan that hangs over your table V 9 " That is 
my kitchen," replied Oberlin ; " I am in the 
habit of dining at home with my parents every 
day, and they give me a large piece of bread to 
bring back in my pocket. At eight o'clock in 
the evening, I put my bread into that pan, and 
having sprinkled it with salt, and poured a little 
water upon it, I place it over my lamp, and 
go on with my studies till ten or eleven o'clock, 
when I generally begin to feel hungry, and 
relish my self-cooked supper more than the 
greatest dainties." 

Stouber congratulated him on the happiness 
of possessing such a contented disposition ; and 
assuring him that he was just the person he 
wished to find, communicated to him the object 
of his visit. 

Oberlin was rejoiced at the proposition, and 
as soon as he could obtain an honourable re- 
lease from the acceptance of the chaplaincy, 
and had ascertained that there were no prior 
claimants to the situation, he accepted it. The 
Ban de la Roche, as a sphere of pastoral labour, 
was wholly uninviting to any but those who, in 
singleness of heart, were wishing to forsake all 
for Christ : Oberlin, therefore, after many ear- 
nest prayers that a blessing might rest upon 
himself and upon the little flock committed to 
his charge, accompanied his new friend and 
patron thither, and arrived at Waldbach on the 
30th of March, 1767. He was at this time 
in the twenty-seventh year of his age. 



26 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 



CHAPTER III. 

Oberlin's first impressions on reaching Waldbach— 
State of the parish — Improvements needed — Opposition 
manifested by the peasantry — Correspondence with M. 
Stouber — Letters from the latter — His marriage — Im- 
provements in the condition of the roads — Agricultural 
improvements, &c. 

On Oberlin's arrival at Waldbach, he took 
up his residence at the parsonage house, a 
tolerably commodious building, formerly occu- 
pied by M. Stouber. It had a court-yard in 
front, and a good garden behind, and stood in a 
delightful situation, very near the church, being 
surrounded by steep dells clothed with wood, 
and rugged mountains, the tops and sides of 
which were partially covered with pines, and a 
few other straggling trees. 

The first glance which he threw over the 
mountains destined to be the scene of his 
ministerial labours, convinced him, that not- 
withstanding the partial reformation effected 
by M. Stouber's exertions, neither the neces- 
sities of his flock, nor the difficulties which 
opposed their removal, were of any ordinary 
kind. 

They were alike destitute of the means of 
mental and social intercourse ; they spoke 
a rude dialect, which was the medium of no 
external information ; they were entirely se- 
cluded from the neighbouring districts by the 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 27 

want of roads, which, owing to the devastation 
of war, and decays of population, had been so 
totally lost, that the only mode of communica- 
tion, from the bulk of the parish to the neigh- 
bouring towns, was across the river Bruche, a 
stream thirty feet wide, by stepping-stones, and 
in winter along its bed ; the husbandmen were 
destitute of the most necessary agricultural im- 
plements, and had no means of procuring 
them; the provisions springing from the soil 
were not sufficient to maintain even a scanty 
population; and a feudal service, more fatal 
than sterile land and ungenial climate, con- 
stantly depressed and irritated their spirits. 

Confident, however, that strength would be 
afforded, if rightly sought, Oberlin at once re- 
solved to employ all the attainments in science, 
philosophy, and religion, which he had brought 
with him from Strasburg, to the improvement 
of the parish and the benefit of his parishion- 
ers. 

Those individuals over whom M. Stouber 
had gained an influence, silently acquiesced in 
the projects of his successor ; but a very deter- 
mined spirit of opposition soon manifested 
itself among the opposite party, under the sup- 
position that old practices are always safe, 
and that whatever is new must be pernicious. 
They resolved, therefore, not to submit to inno- 
vation, but to try what they might be able to 
effect by determined resistance. On one oc- 
casion, soon after his arrival, they laid a plan 
to waylay their new minister, and inflict upon 



28 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

him a severe personal castigation, judging that 
such a measure, at the commencement of his 
career, would prevent his future interference. 

Oberlin happily received information of their 
intention, and, without being disconcerted at 
the intelligence, immediately determined upon 
a mode of correction, in which the peculiar 
gentleness and decision, that formed such lead- 
ing traits in his character, were remarkably 
displayed. 

Sunday being fixed upon for the execution 
of this attempt, when the day arrived, he took 
For his text those words of our Saviour, in the 
fifth chapter of St. Matthew : — " But I say unto 
you, that ye resist not evil ; but whosoever 
shall smite thee on thy right check, turn to him 
the other also ;" and proceeded from these 
words to speak of the Christian patience with 
which we should suffer injuries, and submit to 
false surmises, and ill usage. After the service, 
the malecontents met at the house of one of 
the party, to amuse themselves in conjecturing 
what their pastor would do, when he should 
find himself compelled to put in practice the 
principles he had so readily explained. What, 
then, must have been their astonishment, when 
the door opened, and Oberlin himself stood 
before them ! 

" Here am I, my friends," said he, with that 
calm dignity of manner which inspires even 
the most violent with respect; " I am acquaint- 
ed with your design. You have wished to 
chastise me, because you consider me culpable. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 29 

If I have indeed violated the rules which 1 have 
laid down for you, punish me for it. It is bet- 
ter that I should deliver myself into your hands, 
than that you should be guilty of the meanness 
of an ambuscade." These simple words pro- 
duced their intended effect. The peasants, 
ashamed of their scheme, sincerely begged his 
forgiveness, and promised never again to enter- 
tain a doubt of the sincerity of the motives by 
which he was actuated, and of his affectionate 
desires to promote their welfare. 

A few weeks after this event another circum- 
stance, of a similar nature, occurred in one of 
the adjoining villages. He was informed that 
the young people belonging to it had deter- 
mined to seize him the following Sunday, 
on his leaving their place of worship, and to 
duck him in a cistern. He consequently took 
occasion to speak, in his sermon, of the happi- 
ness and security enjoyed by those who trust 
in the Lord ; of the special protection which 
he vouchsafes to his servants ; and of his firm 
belief that not a hair of our heads can be injured 
without his express permission. He was in the 
general habit of returning home on horseback, 
but this time he set out purposely on foot, de- 
siring a peasant to lead his horse. He had not 
proceeded far, before he saw two or three men 
partly concealed behind the hedge, and await- 
ing his approach. He passed them, however, 
with so calm and composed a countenance and 
step, that they were daunted, and did not ven- 
ture to put their plan into execution. 



30 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX, 

These occurrences are believed to hare had 
a £Ood effect in accelerating: the execution of 
his projects of reform ; for those who had 
connived in the plots against him, anxious to 
reinstate themselves in his good esteem, and 
conscious that they had no better means of 
succeeding than by warmly seconding the 
views which they had hitherto opposed,, were 
henceforward among the foremost to assist 
him. 

During the first years of his residence in the 
Ban de la Roche. Oberlin found an enlightened 
and experienced guide, and a wise and faithful 
counsellor, in his predecessor. M. Stouber. The 
following letter, addressed by the latter to his 
young friend, is full of excellent counsel and 
advice ; and proves that he had himself felt the 
responsibility attached to so peculiar a situation. 

•• Sr-asburg. June 2. 176S. 

# * * * # 

* # # # # 

" Do not. my dear friend, suppose that I could 
have done any thing better than you have done 
it. God alone can enable either of us to do 
jusr so much as he pleases, and no more. The 
little experience that it cost me long years of 
labour and difficulty to obtain, you will acquire 
more speedily. You possess it already, in 
some degree, though still insufficiently. When 
I was in your situation, a single circumstance, 
or even a single word, would sometimes discou- 
rage and discompose me so much that I did not 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 31 

know what to do. I could not help perceiving 
almost every day that I had ignorantly commit- 
ted the greatest mistakes — ignorantly escaped 
the greatest dangers — ignorantly lost or ac- 
quired the greatest advantages : — that what I 
sought was evil, and what I shunned good ; — 
that what I hoped for was nothing, and what I 
supposed nothing, something. If it was God's 
purpose that any scheme of mine should suc- 
ceed, he caused the heads of the parish to listen 
to me even when I least expected it, and had 
made the least preparation for it ; and as fre- 
quently permitted the plans upon which I had 
grounded my hopes of success, and taken the 
most pains to carry into effect, to become of no 
avail. 

"In so deplorable a state are the people of 
the unfortunate Steinthal, that one in your situa- 
tion can do nothing but commend them to God, 
and look for succour and assistance from him 
alone. If he should see meet to let things go 
on for a period in their present state, and with- 
out any visible improvement, do not be discou- 
raged. He undoubtedly will, in his own good 
time, effect such changes among some of the 
members of your flock, as neither the folly nor 
the taunts of the remainder, nor the craft and 
malice of the enemy, shall be able to subvert ; 
and while you trace his finger throughout the 
whole, and thank him for having crowned your 
exertions with even this partial success, you 
will find increased cause for the exercise of 
self-distrust, patience, and humility. God will, 



32 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

I feel assured, bless your endeavours, if you 
continue to maintain that devotedness of spirit 
which your letter so sweetly and fervently 
breathes. Only trust every thing to him ; and 
pray for the blessing which he alone can be- 
stow. You have more influence over others 
than I have ; and this, provided you fear no 
one but God, and guard against forming too 
many schemes, will render you in truth more 
useful than I have been. But I must remind 
you, that even when deeply engaged in good 
works, it is possible to depart from spiritual 
Christianity ; and I would, on this account, 
urge you to maintain a constant guard over 
yourself. You have been brought under the 
influence of religion, and, in the usual sense of 
the term, converted to God ; but, without con- 
stant prayer to him, and the most zealous watch- 
fulness, there is a danger lest you should rest 
satisfied with this, and relapse into indifference. 
By being so incessantly occupied in the prose- 
cution of your favourite schemes, and destitute 
of stimulating society, you may become cold 
and lukewarm in your religious duties, and less 
devoted in your service to God, even though 
busily employed in promoting the well-being 
of your fellow-creatures. I would, therefore, 
earnestly exhort you, my dear friend, to be 
always ' fervent in spirit, serving the Lord ;' 
living only to, and for, him. Thus you will be 
enabled to overcome difficulties ; you will find 
comfort and peace in believing, and he will 
protect, guide, and bless you. Your work will 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 33 

prosper, not perhaps in the manner which you 
design, but in the way which God has purposed. 

"I have no other end in view in this exhorta- 
tion than your good. I wish you to understand 
that this is, literally, my only object in writing 
thus plainly. I speak frankly and sincerely to 
you, because I know that our hearts are closely 
allied, and because I have sometimes observed 
with deep concern the dangers incident to young 
persons ; coldness and lukewarmness after the 
first fervour of religious feeling has subsided ; 
self-sufficiency in what they have effected, and 
too great tendency to absorption of mind in even 
laudable and benevolent pursuits. 

" This is the motive that induces me, once 
for all, to warn you on this point ; for the heart 
of man is deceitful, and naturally tends to earth 
if it is not constantly drawn upward. 

" There are yet two things to which I parti- 
cularly wish to direct your attention ; — prayer 
and the Holy Scriptures. I find it necessary, 
in order to keep up habitual communion with 
God, and to fan the spirit of Christianity in my 
own bosom, to have constant recourse to them. 

" It is by reading the writings of the apostles, 
almost exclusively, that I am enabled to press 
onward in my spiritual course, and to encourage 

myself to prayer. 

# * * # # 

# # # # # 

" Yours, my dear friend, 

" In the bonds of Christian love, 

" G. Stouber." 
3 



34 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

Warned and encouraged by such powerful 
exhortations, Oberlin went on his way rejoicing, 
and eventually became established in Christian 
faith and holiness. 

But I have now to speak of an event which 
materially contributed to enhance his temporal 
happiness. This was his marriage with a very 
pious and amiable young lady of Strasburg, 
named Madeleine Salome Witter. This young 
lady was a friend and relation of the family. 
She had lost her father, who was a professor in 
the University of Strasburg, at a very early age, 
and her mother died shortly afterward ; but, 
although deprived of the benefit of parental 
instruction, she possessed a sound understand- 
ing, and a highly cultivated mind, deeply im- 
bued with religious principle. In forming this 
connection Oberlin believed himself to be fol- 
lowing the dictates of Providence, and he en- 
tered into it in a spirit of deep piety. The 
marriage took place July the sixth, 1768, about 
a year after his settlement at Waldbach. 

Mrs. Oberlin soon became an invaluable as- 
sistant to her husband in all his labours of love, 
tempering his zeal with her prudence, and for- 
warding his benevolent plans by her judicious 
arrangements. In the prosecution of those 
plans much Christian firmness was requisite, 
for they had, as we have already seen, to en- 
counter the prejudices generally attendant on 
ignorance, and such as the most unwearied 
patience and self-denying virtue could alone 
have surmounted. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 35 

Almost the first object of Oberlin's provident 
activity was to repair and widen the roads. In 
a country where rocks hanging on the steep 
declivity of a chain of mountains, and rapid 
torrents pouring from their summits, are per- 
petually causing considerable falls of loosened 
earth, the formation and preservation of roads 
involve an expense far beyond the resources 
of a poor and isolated parish ; and all the roads 
belonging to the Ban de la Roche were conse- 
quently, during the greater part of the year, 
absolutely impassable. 

To rescue his parishioners from the half- 
savage state in which he found them, he judged 
it necessary, as a preliminary measure, to bring 
them into contact with the inhabitants of other 
districts, further advanced in civilization ; and 
for this purpose to open a regular communica- 
tion with the high road to Strasburg, by which 
means the productions of the Ban de la Roche 
might find a market, and materials be procured 
for exercising their industry and ingenuity. 

Having therefore assembled the people, he 
proposed that they should blast the rocks, and 
convey a sufficient quantity of enormous masses 
to construct a wall to support a road about a 
mile and a half in length, along the banks of 
the river Biuche, and build a bridge across it 
near Rothau. 

The peasants were perfectly astonished at 
the proposition. The project appeared to them 
totally impracticable, and every one excused 
himself, on the plea of private business, from 



36 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

engaging in so stupendous an undertaking. 
Oberlin, still intent on the prosecution of his 
scheme, endeavoured to refute the objections 
raised on all sides : " The produce of your 
fields," said he, " will then meet with a ready 
market abroad ; for, instead of being imprisoned 
in your villages nine months out of the twelve, 
you will be enabled to keep up an intercourse 
with the inhabitants of the neighbouring dis- 
tricts. You will have the opportunity of pro- 
curing a number of things of which you have 
long stood in need, without the possibility of 
obtaining them, and your happiness will be 
augmented and increased by the additional 
means thus afforded of providing comforts for 
yourselves and your children." But his argu- 
ments were concluded with a more touching 
appeal. He offered them his own example in 
the undertaking. " Let all," he said, " who 
feel the importance of my proposition, come 
and work with me." 

Oberlin had already traced the plan, and no 
sooner had he pronounced these words, than, 
with a pick-axe on his shoulder, he proceeded 
to the spot ; while the astonished peasants, 
animated by his example, forgot their former 
excuses, and hastened, with unanimous con- 
sent, to fetch their tools and follow him. He 
presently assigned to each individual an allot- 
ted post ; selected for himself and a faithful 
servant the most difficult and dangerous places ; 
and, regardless of the thorns by which his 
hands were torn, and of the loose stones by 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 37 

which they were occasionally bruised, went to 
work with the greatest diligence and enthusi- 
asm. The emulation awakened by his conduct 
quickly spread through the whole parish. The 
increased number of hands rendered an in- 
creased number of implements necessary ; he 
procured them from Strasburg ; expenses accu- 
mulated ; he interested his distant friends, and, 
through their assistance, funds were obtained ; 
walls were erected to support the earth which 
appeared ready to give way ; mountain torrents, 
which had hitherto inundated the meadows, 
were diverted into courses, or received into 
beds sufficient to contain them ; perseverance, 
in short, triumphed over difficulties, and at the 
commencement of the year 1770 a communica- 
tion was opened with Strasburg, by means of 
the new road, and a neat wooden bridge thrown 
across the river. This bridge still bears the 
name of " Le Pont de Charite"* 

The immediate advantages resulting from 
this great undertaking increased the influence 
which Oberlin was already beginning to acquire 
over his parishioners, and rendered the adoption 
of his successive plans, particularly that of a 
regular communication between five hitherto 
separated villages, still more practicable. It 
seemed as though nothing could daunt their 
ardour ; and the pastor, who, on the sabbath, 
had directed their attention with that earnest- 
ness and warmth with which his own soul was 
animated, to " the rest that remaineth for the 

* The Bridge of Charity. 



38 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

people of God," and to the " city which hath 
foundations," was seen on the Monday, with a 
pick-axe on his shoulder, marching at the head 
of two hundred of his flock, with an energy that 
neither fatigue nor danger could diminish. 

One of the next wants that he found it neces- 
sary to supply was a depot in the valley, for 
agricultural tools and implements of husbandry ; 
for whenever any of them happened to break, or 
to get out of repair, two whole days' work must 
be lost in going to Strasburg to procure more, 
and even then the poor peasants were destitute 
of ready money to purchase them. To remedy 
this inconvenience, he stocked a large ware- 
house in Waldbach with the necessary articles, 
and gave the purchasers credit till their pay- 
ments came round. He also established a sort 
of lending fund, under such strict regulations, 
that those who did not punctually repay the 
money they had borrowed on the prescribed day 
were deprived, for a certain time, of the liberty 
of borrowing again. 

Another measure, which he considered es- 
sential to the progress of civilization, was the 
introduction of trades. There were neither 
masons, blacksmiths, nor cartwrights in the 
country, and the inhabitants were subjected to 
numerous privations, and to great expenses, in 
fetching from the neighbouring towns what was 
needful for the supply of their wants. Oberlin, 
therefore, selected from among the elder boys 
some of the readiest abilities, and sent them to 
Strasburg, to learn the trades of a carpenter, a 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 39 

mason, a glazier, a cartwright, and a blacksmith. 
By this means he succeeded in procuring good 
workmen, who, on their return, not only in- 
structed others in their newly acquired arts, but 
saved the people of the Ban de la Roche the 
expense and loss of time they had formerly 
incurred : nor was this the only advantage ac- 
cruing from so judicious a step, for the money 
which had hitherto been sent to a distance was 
now circulated among themselves. So scarce 
had money previously been, that the gift of a 
single sou* is said to have overwhelmed a poor 
woman with joy, as it enabled her to procure a 
little salt to eat with her potatoes. 

Finally, Oberlin's solicitude extended to their 
dwellings. They were generally wretched 
cabins, hewn out of the rocks, or sunk into the 
sides of the mountains, and without cellars suf- 
ficiently deep to preserve the potatoes, which 
formed their principal sustenance, from the 
frost. Under his superintendence and direction, 
however, cellars were constructed, and com- 
fortable cottages erected. 

In the prosecution of these plans, as well as 
those introduced at a later period, Oberlin was 
much indebted to the counsel and experience 
of his paternal friend, M. Stouber, with whom 
he maintained a regular correspondence. The 
following extract from one of his letters de- 
serves insertion in this memoir, because the 
advice it contains may prove of utility to others, 

* A small coin, of less value than one cent. 



40 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIi\\ 

as well as to the individual for whom it was 
originally designed : — 

" My Dear Friend, — * * * * 
" The best advice I can give you is, to care 
chiefly for the souls of your flock. I would not 
have you too anxious to render them eager in 
the pursuit of worldly good; for, as they be- 
come Christians, they will naturally become 
active, industrious, and provident. You must 
not allow them to be either idlers, or the slaves 
of mammon. 

" By endeavouring too much to induce them 
to adopt your plans in preference to others 7 
and on account of some supposed superiority 
over those to which they have been accustom- 
ed, you will defeat your own purposes, and 
excite their suspicion and disgust. I advise 
you, therefore, to leave them, for the present at 
least, pretty much to their own devices, and to 
labour, in charity and love, for the salvation of 
their souls, firmly believing that by so doing 
you will obtain the greatest blessing. This is 
the last thing that experience taught me during 
my residence in the Steinthal, or rather since 
I left it. I much regret having occasionally 
induced the people to do things against their 
will. If I were now there, I would leave them 
much more to themselves ; and, however in- 
different might be the appearance of their ex- 
ternal affairs, the state of their finances, or 
the conduct of their schools, I would say little 
to them on the subject of economy or manage- 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 41 

ment, but, by evincing a sincere interest in 
their concerns, I would endeavour to gain their 
confidence, and induce them to regard me as 
their friend ; and then, having once obtained 
this confidence, and a proportionate degree of 
influence, I would exert it, to the utmost of 
my ability, to their advantage, both in the in- 
struction of the young, and the conversion of 
the old, seeking to win their affections by my 
earnest desire to promote their spiritual in- 
terests. If you adopt this method, my dear 
friend, God will take care of the rest. Neces- 
sity will compel your people to employ them- 
selves, and they will think a thousand times 
better of their own schemes, than of any that 
you can propose to them. 

" I am far from wishing you to give up your 
projects, (many of which have been already 
attended with such admirable success,) but I 
acknowledge that I have, for my own part, felt 
the danger of bestowing too much attention 
upon such things, rather ^than upon more essen- 
tial and important duties. At the same time 
I would not have you by any means neglect a 
ready acquiescence in such practical schemes 
as may suggest themselves to the minds of 
your people, or the adoption of such as may 
occur to yourself: only do not make them 
your primary object." 

Oberlin felt the importance of this last ad- 
vice in his efforts for the improvement of agri- 
culture, on which subject his parishioners 



42 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

reluctantly received his instructions, as they 
supposed, from his having spent his youth in 
a city, that he must be incompetent to give it ; 
he determined therefore to appeal to their eyes 
rather than their ears, believing that they would 
be more easily led to coincide in his views 
when they had seen his theories reduced to 
practice. Belonging to his parsonage were 
two gardens, crossed by very public footpaths, 
and these he chose for the scene of his labours. 
Assisted by a favourite and intelligent servant, 
he dug trenches four or five feet deep, and 
surrounded the young trees that he planted in 
them with such soil as he considered best 
adapted to promote their growth. He also pro- 
cured slips of apples, pears, plumbs, cherries, 
and walnuts, and made a large nursery ground 
of one of the gardens, hitherto noted for the 
poverty of its soil; and then waited with pa- 
tience for the time when his parishioners, ob- 
serving the success of his experiments, should 
come of their own accord to express their as- 
tonishment, and to ask his assistance in raising 
trees for themselves. 

His expectations were not disappointed : the 
trees grew and flourished ; and, as the peasants 
had to pass through the gardens in going to 
their daily work, they could not help stopping 
to observe the surprising contrast between the 
scanty supply of their own, and the rich pro- 
duce of their pastor's land, and at length re- 
paired to him, anxiously inquiring how such 
very fine trees could grow in such a soil. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 43 

Oberlin, according to his accustomed method 
of deriving instruction from every incident, first 
directed their thoughts to Him who " causeth 
the earth to bring forth her bud," and who 
" crowneth the year with his goodness," and 
then proceeded to explain the mode of cultiva- 
tion by which, under his all-superintending pro- 
vidence, their exertions might be followed by 
similar success. 

The taste for planting trees was thus dif- 
fused, and the art of grafting, in which he him- 
self instructed those who wished to understand 
it, became a favourite employment. The very 
face of the country, in consequence, underwent 
a complete change ; for the cottages, hitherto 
for the most part bare and desolate, were sur- 
rounded by neat little orchards and gardens ; 
and, in the place of indigence and misery, the 
villages and their inhabitants gradually assumed 
an air of rural happiness. 

So barbarous had been the state of the Ban 
de la Roche, that previous to the year 1709 its 
inhabitants had subsisted on wild apples and 
pears : the famine of that year had however 
compelled them to devise other means of sub- 
sistence, and, clearing away a large forest, they 
planted it with a species of potato. When 
Oberlin came, their crops, owing to the wash- 
ing away of the soil, had so degenerated, that 
fields which had formerly produced from one 
hundred and twenty to one hundred and fifty 
bushels, now only produced from thirty to fifty. 

Oberlin imported new seed, showed them the 



44 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

cause of the decrease, and pointed out the 
remedy, which, being applied, soon restored the 
crops to a degree of excellence and profusion 
which not only rendered them sufficient for 
home consumption, but made them a profitable 
article of exportation. 

Having attained a thorough knowledge of 
botany while at M. Ziegenhagen's, he made 
his people acquainted with their native plants, 
many of which he taught them to apply to 
useful purposes : he also succeeded in intro- 
ducing flax and clover, the seeds of which he 
had imported. The success which attended 
his labours was much owing to the attention he 
paid in the management of manures, which he 
taught his people to ferment and to compose 
from mosses, leaves, and the cones of the fir- 
tree ; and that nothing might be lost, he direct- 
ed the children to tear up old woollen rags, and 
old shoes, which, to encourage their labours, 
he purchased of them, and applied as manure. 
By every means did this good man thus en- 
deavour to raise his people from the abject 
state into which their ignorance and poverty 
had placed them, leading them step by step, 
not only by precept, but example also. 

In 1778 he formed an agricultural society, 
composed of the most intelligent of his parish- 
ioners, with which he invited the pastors of 
adjoining parishes to co-operate, and that it 
might have the benefit of valuable periodicals, 
he united it to the agricultural society at Stras- 
burg ; and the latter society, wishing to encour- 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 45 

age its interesting auxiliary, entrusted to its 
disposal a sum of money to be distributed as 
prizes among the peasants who should most 
distinguish themselves in the planting of nur- 
sery grounds, and in the grafting of fruit-trees. 

The good effects resulting from this measure 
induced Oberlin likewise to form a fund, sup- 
ported by voluntary contributions, for the distri- 
bution of prizes to the farmers of each com- 
mune, who should rear the finest ox. A short 
time afterward, with a view to prepare the ris- 
ing generation for continuing the works which 
their fathers had begun, and to give them the 
opportunity of acquiring useful information, he 
commenced the plan of devoting two hours 
every other Thursday morning to a familiar 
lecture on the subjects of agriculture and of 
useful science. 

Such indeed was his assiduity, that not a 
year rolled away in which some astonishing im- 
provement was not effected in the condition or 
the morals of his people ; and the surrounding 
districts beheld with admiration the rapid pro- 
gress that civilization was continually making 
in the once neglected and apparently forsaken 
Steinthal. 



46 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 



CHAPTER IV. 

Oberlin's address to his parishioners on the commence- 
ment of a new year — Erection of a new school-house in 
the Ban de la Roche — Progress of civilization — Four other 
school-houses erected — Introduction of infant schools, 
under the care of governesses — Public schools — Weekly 
assembling of the children at Waldbach, to receive reli- 
gious instruction — Establishment of a circulating library — 
Almanack — Christian Society established in 1782 — Abro- 
gation of that society. 

While Oberlin was thus zealous in encou- 
raging the progress of agriculture, and in form- 
ing his people to habits of industry, he attended 
with equal solicitude to what related more im- 
mediately to his pastoral functions, as the fol- 
lowing address to his parishioners, on the com- 
mencement of the new year, 1779, bears ample 
testimony. 

"January 1, 1779. 

" And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make 
all things new." — Rev. xxi, 5. 

" Through the grace of God we have entered 
upon a new year. O! that it may be new 
with respect to our sins, our sufferings, and 
the temptations with which we may have to 
combat. 

"As to sins, may their number diminish day 
by day, and may we be more constantly ani- 
mated and governed by the spirit of our Lord 
Jesus Christ. As to sufferings and tribulations, 
may they produce the effect which God designs 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 47 

in sending them, namely, that of detaching our 
affections from this transitory world, and of 
rendering us attentive to his will and word. 
May they quicken us to prayer ; and induce 
us to strive more earnestly to enter in at the 
strait gate, and to ' press toward the mark for 
the prize of our high calling.' And as to the 
temptations which may be placed in our way, 
may we live entirely to Jesus Christ, and main- 
tain constant communion with him, in order 
that we may receive, from time to time, fresh 
supplies of grace and strength to resist them, 
and be enabled to bring forth fruits of righteous- 
ness, to the glory of God and to the honour of 
his holy gospel. O Lord, be thou pleased, with 
the renewal of the year, to renew our strength. 
O Lord Jesus Christ, thou hast said, * I make 
all things new ;' O make our faith new also. 

" May this year be marked by a more lively, 
more deep, and more serious repentance ; by 
greater fervour in supplicating the influences 
of God's Holy Spirit ; by renewed earnestness 
in devoting ourselves to him, and to his ser- 
vice. May we look to him, and employ all 
our mental and bodily powers, our time, and 
our property, to his glory, and to the purpose 
for which Jesus quitted his throne, namely, the 
conversion and happiness of mankind. O may 
we, this year, apply ourselves, with renewed 
faithfulness, to obey all his commandments, and 
all his precepts. 

" May this year be distinguished by an in- 
crease of the number of the children of God, 



48 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

and of the followers of Jesus Christ ; by the 
weakening of the kingdom of Satan within us, 
and by the coming of the kingdom of God. 

" May we, not only during the present, but, 
also, during each succeeding year which God 
shall grant us in this probationary world, be- 
come more and more prepared for a blessed 
eternity — abound more in prayers of interces- 
sion and supplication — shed more tears of peni- 
tence, contrition, love, and pity — and perform 
more good works, in order that we may reap 
an abundant harvest on that day, when God, 
through Jesus Christ, shall ' make all things 
new.'" 

The instruction of the young engaged Ober- 
lin's especial attention ; and as the only regular 
school-house in the five villages was Stouber's 
hut, now falling to decay, (owing to its having 
been built of unseasoned materials.) he resolved 
on erecting a more eligible edifice. To this, 
however, his parishioners were violently op- 
posed, and refused their consent until he had 
formally stipulated that the parish should be 
entirely freed from any expenses which might 
occur from either the erection or reparation of 
the projected building. 

Oberlin applied for aid to his friends at 
Strasburg ; and though the sums they sent were 
inadequate to the demand, and his own income 
very limited, yet he resolved to proceed with 
the building, confiding in the goodness of his 
heavenly Father, and convinced, as he often 
said, that if he asked for anv thing with faith, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 49 

and it was really right that the thing should 
take place, it would infallibly be granted to his 
prayers. " When, indeed, are our plans more 
likely to succeed, than when we enter upon 
them in humble and simple dependance upon 
God, whose blessing alone can render them 
successful V 9 

The event afforded a fresh evidence of this 
truth. Not only did Oberlin complete this 
school-house, without materially injuring his 
own slender finances, but, in the course of a few 
years, school-houses were erected in each of 
the other villages by the voluntary contributions 
of the people, who warmly seconded their pas- 
tor's views ; such had been the progress of 
civilization among them. 

During the construction of these buildings, 
the preparation of teachers went on, who were 
now selected from the most respectable and 
intelligent families. Oberlin, observing that 
while the education of the elder children went 
on, the younger ones, whose parents were ne- 
cessarily engaged in work, must be sadly neg- 
lected, devised a plan for their improvement, 
by the introduction of infant schools, probably 
the very first ever established, and the model 
of those subsequently opened at Paris, and still 
more recently in this country. Observation 
and experience had convinced him that, even 
from the very cradle, children are capable of 
being taught to distinguish between right and 
wrong, and of being trained to habits of subor- 
dination and industry ; and, in conjunction with 

4 



50 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX, 

his wife, he therefore formed governesses for 
each commune, engaged large rooms for them, 
and salaried them at his own expense. In- 
struction, in these schools, was mingled with 
amusement ; and while enough of discipline 
was introduced to instil habits of subjection, a 
degree of liberty was allowed, which left the 
infant mind full power of expansion, and in- 
formation was conveyed which might turn to 
the most important use in after life. During 
school hours, the children were collected on 
forms in great circles. Two women were em- 
ployed, the one to direct the handicraft, the 
other to instruct and entertain them. While 
the children of two or three years only were 
made at intervals to sit quietly by, those of five 
or six were taught to knit, spin, and sew ; and 
when thev were beginning to be wearv of their 
occupation, their governess showed them co- 
loured pictures, relating to some subject of 
Scripture history, making them recite after her 
the explanations she gave. She also explained 
to them maps of the Ban de la Roche, France, 
and Europe, which Oberlin had engraved on 
wood for their use : and she taught them to 
sing moral songs and hymns, thus varying their 
employments, and giving them constant occu- 
pation. The children were never allowed to 
speak the incorrect dialect of their country, but 
were taught to express themselves in good 
French ; and thus Oberlin succeeded in banish- 
ing the patois or imperfect language of the Ban 
de la Roche. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 51 

With minds thus trained by discipline, the 
children, when arrived at a proper age, entered 
the public schools, the masters of which were 
relieved and encouraged in their arduous labours 
by the progress they had already made. 

Reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, the 
principles of agriculture, astronomy, and sacred 
and profane history, were regularly taught in 
the higher schools ; but, although Oberlin care- 
fully superintended the whole proceedings, he 
reserved for himself, almost exclusively, the 
religious instruction of this large family. Every 
Sunday the children of each village, in rota- 
tion, assembled at the church, to sing the hymns 
they had learned, to recite the religious lessons 
which they had committed to memory during 
the week, and to receive the exhortations or 
admonitions of their common father. 

Besides this sabbath service, Oberlin estab- 
lished a weekly meeting of all the scholars at 
Waldbach, in which he compared the merits 
of the schools, improved the method of teach- 
ing, and stimulated the scholars to increased 
diligence, for they knew the u dear father" (the 
title by which Oberlin was designated in his 
parish) attentively watched their progress, and 
they were truly anxious to secure his approving 
smiles, which were regarded by them as an 
ample reward for all the labours of the past week. 

The success attending these benevolent ex- 
ertions induced his friends at Strasburg to in- 
crease their subscriptions, and Oberlin was thus 
enabled to establish a library of valuable works 



52 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

for the use of the children, and to have a num- 
ber of school-books printed for the Ban de la 
Roche ; he also made a collection of indigenous 
plants, and procured an electrical machine, and 
other philosophical and mathematical instru- 
ments. Prizes were likewise awarded to both 
masters and scholars ; and various works upon 
natural history and other branches of science, 
some of w^hich he printed at his own expense, 
put in circulation on the plan of a little book- 
society, being retained for three months at a 
time, first at one village and then at another, 
passing successively from house to house, in 
order that the younger members of the family 
might be supplied with a continual fund of use- 
ful and agreeable information. 

Oberlin, about this time, drew up an alma- 
nack, divested of all the falsehoods and super- 
stitions with which those in use were filled, 
thinking that their tendency was to mislead 
and deceive uneducated persons. 

Oberlin knew how to blend amusement with 
instruction in the wisest and most judicious 
manner; and while his primary object ever 
was to ground the young people in the prin- 
ciples of our Christian faith, and to induce 
them to consider religion as the guardian and 
inspirer of their happiness, he had also the 
talent of diffusing among them that taste for 
pastoral and agricultural life which their cir- 
cumstances rendered so peculiarly desirable. 

In order to familiarize the children of twelve 
or fifteen years of age with these pursuits, they 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 53 

were accustomed to write, under the direction 
of their teachers, short essays on agriculture 
and the management of fruit-trees, selected and 
extracted from the best authors. These they 
afterward committed to memory; and, at the 
annual examination, they were expected to give 
answers to the questions proposed. 

The Ban de la Roche presented a delightful 
field for botany, and they were, even at a still 
earlier period, initiated in the principles of that 
pleasing science, and accustomed to range the 
woods in summer in search of the plants whose 
names and properties they had learned during 
the winter, and to transplant them into the little 
gardens their parents had been induced to give 
them for the exercise of their industry and skill. 

They were also taught to draw the flowers ; 
an art in which some of them succeeded re- 
markably well.* 

* The editor has seen several groups of flowers copied 
from nature by Oberlin's scholars. She has in her posses- 
sion a garland of roses and heart's-ease, upon which the 
children of our public schools would look with astonish- 
ment, were they told it was painted by a poor little boy in 
similar circumstances with themselves. The following 
text is neatly written, in French, in the centre : — " Thou 
shalt also be a crown of glory in the hand of the Lord, and 
a royal diadem in the hand of thy God," Isa. lxii, 3. And 
underneath are inscribed these words : — " Will you, Mr. 
Legrand, accept this slight token of sincere gratitude from 
your humble and dutiful scholar, 

" GUSTAVUS SCHEIDECKER." 

Thus were the little children of the Ban de la Roche 
accustomed to acknowledge their obligations to those who 
kindly took charge of their education. 



54 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN 

From what has been related, it will be sup- 
posed that the schoolmasters were, at this pe- 
riod, persons of a somewhat different descrip- 
tion from the shepherd schoolmasters in Stou- 
ber's time. Individuals of the first distinction 
in the village were generally fixed upon for the 
office, now become a very important one ; and 
indeed at Bellefosse the character of mayor and 
schoolmaster were at one time united in the 
same person. They were still called " regents," 
according to M. Stouber's original suggestion, 
and were paid on a plan fixed by law : widows, 
masters of families, and each particular child 
sent to school, had a certain proportion to pay. 

Among other things, the regents were re- 
quired to impress upon the minds of their pupils 
that, from the peculiarity of their local circum- 
stances, (their maintenance depending almost 
entirely on the products of the valley,) it was 
a duty incumbent upon them to contribute their 
share toward the general prosperity ; and, pre- 
viously to receiving religious confirmation, they 
were expected to bring a certificate from their 
parents, that they had planted, in a spot de- 
scribed, two young trees.* The day on which 

* It is the injunction of the apostle, that " whether we 
eat or drink, or whatsoever we do, we do all to the glory 
of God," 1 Cor. x, 31. The views of religion which Ober- 
lin entertained made him bring the greatest principles to 
the minutest operation. He would take a stone out of 
the road, if it were likely to incommode a traveller, on the 
principle of love to his neighbour ; and in this manner he 
argued respecting all the duties in which mankind are 
engaged. Take, for instance, a direction to his people on 






MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 55 

the first fruit was presented to their beloved 
pastor was an interesting and useful festival. 

Thus were the clouds of ignorance, which 
had, for a long period, settled on the Ban de la 
Roche, gradually dispelled by the enlightening 
influence of Christian education ; and this at a 
time when knowledge was considered unne- 
cessary, and dangerous for the poorer classes ; 
and when the modern systems of cheap and 
mechanical instruction w r ere almost entirely 
unknown. The change that was, in the course 
of a few years, effected in this place, is the 
more extraordinary when we reflect upon the 
state of the people previous to Oberlin's ar- 
rival ; and, in contemplating it, we are invo- 
luntarily led to unite with him, in ascribing the 

planting trees. This, with other men, would be an affair 
of convenience ; with him, in his circumstances, it was a 
religious duty. He thus addressed his parishioners : — 

"November 13, 1803. 

u Dear Friends, — Satan, the enemy of mankind, re- 
joices when we demolish and destroy. Our Lord Jesus 
Christ, on the contrary, rejoices when we labour for the 
public good. 

" You all desire to be saved by Him, and hope to be- 
come partakers of his glory. Please him, then, by every 
possible means, during the remainder of the time you may 
have to live in this world. 

" He is pleased when, from the principle of love, you 
plant trees for the public benefit. Now is the season. Be 
willing then to plant them. Plant them also in the best 
possible manner. Remember you do it to please him. 

" Put all your roads into good condition ; ornament 
them ; employ some of your trees for this purpose, and 
attend to their growth." 



56 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

praise to that great and glorious Being to whom 
alone it is due, and who had thus caused " the 
waters to break out in the wilderness, and 
streams in the desert." The total renunciation 
of any thing like merit of his own formed a 
remarkable and striking feature in Oberlin's 
character ; he regarded himself merely as the 
instrument whom it had pleased God to employ, 
and was frequently heard to say, "I have little 
merit in the good that I have done ; I have only 
that of obedience to the will of God. He has 
been graciously pleased to manifest his inten- 
tions to me, and has always given me the means 
of executing them." 

In the year 1782, Oberlin, in the hope of 
advancing the spiritual interests of his people, 
established a society, which he denominated 
" The Christian Society." The following is 
a summary of the rules, translated from the 
original, in his own handwriting : — 

Rubrics of the Christian Society, for assisting 
the memory of the members, and especially that 
of the superintendents, whose duty it is to see 
that they are duly observed. 

1. Regeneration. 

2. Sanctification. 

3. " We are all one in Christ Jesus." 

4. " Abide in me." 

5. " Christ is all, and in all." 

6. " Bring forth much fruit." 

7. " Love not the world, neither the things 
that are in the world." 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 57 

8. Nourish the inner man, by 

(1.) The word of God. 
(2.) Continual prayer. 
(3.) The frequent use of the holy sa- 
crament. 

9. The superintendents are the overseers, 
whom the members choose from among them- 
selves. 

10. Not only the superintendents, but also 
all the members, ought to watch over each other 
for good ; to exhort, and to warn each other, 

11. With sweetness, charity, humility, and 
patience. 

12. As to the incorrigible — follow the ex- 
ample of Jesus Christ. Matt, xviii, 15, 16. 

13. Meet for prayer on this subject. 

14. Be submissive to your superiors. All the 
members are fellow-workers with their pastor. 

15. Good management. 

16. Good education. 

17. "Wives, be in subjection to your own 
husbands." 

18. " Search the Scriptures" diligently. 

19. Diligence. Diligence with application 
and energy — that is to say, industry. 

20. "Be careful for nothing." 

21. Lose no time. 

22. Allow of no idleness or negligence on 
the part of those confided to your care. 

23. Honest and exact payment : no artful- 
ness or cunning. See Rom. xii, 17. 

24. " Be kindly affectioned one to another 
with brotherly love." 



58 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

25. Endeavour to promote trie happiness of 
all. 

26. " Provoke unto love and to good works." 

27. Appropriate part of your earnings, at 
stated intervals, to the public good. 

This society seems, by the account which is 
given of it, to have been established for the 
purpose of prayer and religious conversation. 
It appears to have been violently opposed, and 
spoken against, by some persons in the parish, 
which induced Oberlin, in the supposition that 
the scandal of the bad prevailed over the ad- 
vantage of the good, to put it down about a 
year and a half after its formation. At its dis- 
solution he delivered an address on the subject 
to his parishioners. 

In the course of the year 1784, Oberlin had 
the following paper printed in French and Ger- 
man, and placed in a conspicuous station in 
every cottage throughout this extensive parish. 
It serves to prove at how. early a period the 
subject of missions occupied his mind, and led 
him to form those monthly prayer meetings to 
promote this object, which are now carried for- 
ward by most of the denominations of Chris- 
tians throughout the world : — 

" Our Lord Jesus Christ desires his followers 
to espouse his interests ; to aid him in his great 
work ; and to pray in his name. To conduce 
to this end, he has himself furnished them with 
one common prayer. 



MEMOIRS, OF OBERLIN. 59 

" For the satisfaction and assistance of some 
individuals among us, a sort of spiritual asso- 
ciation was established a few years ago ; and 
by means of printed sheets, the following ar- 
ticles were agreed upon, and circulated : — 

" First. Every member of this society shall 
pray, on the first Monday of every month, that 
the missionaries employed in the conversion 
of savage and idolatrous nations in all parts 
of the world may be supported and sustained 
' against the wiles of the devil.' 

" Secondly. Besides habitual t watching unto 
prayer,' every individual, if he be able, shall 
prostrate himself in mind and body, every 
Sunday and Wednesday, at five o'clock in the 
evening, to ask of God, in the name of Jesus 
Christ — 

" 1st. That every member of this society 
may be saved, with all his household, and be- 
long to the Lord Jesus Christ. 

" 2d. Every member shall add to the list all 
the friends of God of his acquaintance, and pray 
for them. 

" 3d. Every member shall include in his 
prayer all the children of God, in general, upon 
all the earth, of whatever religion they may be, 
supplicating that they may be united more and 
more in Christ Jesus. 

" 4th. Every member shall pray that the 
kingdom of Satan may be at length destroyed, 
and that the kingdom of God, and of our Lord 
Jesus Christ, may be fully and generally estab- 



60 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

lished among the innumerable Pagans, Turks, 
Jews, and nominal Christians. 

" 5th. Every member shall pray for school- 
masters, superiors, and pious magistrates, of 
whatever name or rank they may be. 

" 6th. For faithful pastors, and male and 
female labourers in the vineyard of the Lord 
Jesus, who, being themselves devoted to his 
service, desire, above all things, to bring many 
other souls to him. 

" 7th. For the youth, that God may preserve 
them from the seducing influence of bad ex- 
ample, and lead them to the knowledge of our 
gracious Redeemer. 

" Thirdly. Every Saturday evening, all the 
members shall ask God to bless the preaching 
of his holy word on the morrow." 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 61 



CHAPTER V. 



Death of Mrs. Oberlin— Its effect upon Oberlin's mind — 
Louisa Schepler becomes his housekeeper — Letter from 
the latter — Letter, taken from a German magazine printed 
at Tubingen, containing an account of Oberlin and his 
family, in the year 1793 — Death of his eldest son Frederic. 

Animated by desires of usefulness, habitu- 
ally relying on the goodness of their heavenly 
Father, and stimulating each other to active 
exertion in the performance of every Christian 
duty, Oberlin and his beloved Madeleine passed 
sixteen years in a union cemented by ties of the 
strongest affection. Their family now consist- 
ed of seven children — Frederic, Fidelite Caro- 
line, Charles Conserve, Henry Gottfried, Louisa 
Charite, Henrietta, and Frederica Bienvenue; 
all of whom were brought up under the paternal 
roof.* 

On the 18th of January, 1784, it pleased God 
that an event should take place, which had a 
most powerful influence both upon the cast of 

* " I knew Oberlin," says Mr. Heisch, " as the play- 
fellow and instructer of his children when they were young, 
and as their friend and counsellor when arrived at years of 
maturity. In the character of instructer, he so well knew 
how to mingle affection with earnestness, and even with 
severity when requisite, that his children both loved and 
respected him ; and in that of a friend, there was an en- 
dearing tenderness that not only constituted their happi- 
ness, but formed also a constant stimulus to their exer- 
tions." 



62 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

his mind and the whole of his future life. This 
was the loss of his wife. She died rather sud- 
denly. No unfavourable symptoms, no incipient 
disease had prepared Oberlin for this distress- 
ing separation. When first informed of it, he 
was so much overpowered as to remain for 
some moments plunged in the deepest silence, 
and unable to give utterance to his feelings. 
At length, after this interval of melancholy 
stupor, he was observed suddenly to fall on 
his knees and return thanks to God, that the 
object of his tenderest solicitude was now be- 
yond the reach or the need of prayer, and that 
he had crowned the abundance of his mercies 
toward her, by giving her so easy and gentle 
a dismissal. He has himself commemorated, 
in a written fragment, which will be inserted 
in a future part of this memoir, the emotions 
by which he was agitated in these moments 
of bitter suffering. " Upon this occasion," he 
says, " as upon a thousand others in the course 
of my life, notwithstanding my overwhelming 
affliction, I was upheld, by God's gracious as- 
sistance, in a remarkable manner." 

From that time the passive graces shone as 
conspicuously in his character as the active 
virtues had hitherto done. Neither complaint 
nor murmur escaped his lips. It might be said 
that he had not ceased to live in the society of 
the Christian wife whom he had lost. Every 
day he devoted whole hours to holding com- 
munion with her in those abstracted frames of 
mind which make us almost imagine ourselves 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 63 

in the presence of those whom we love. A 
speedy reunion in the mansions of our Father's 
house was, nevertheless, one of his most che- 
rished desires. " I hope," he would often say, 
" that the world in which God will reunite me 
to my beloved wife will soon open to me." 

This desire had nothing of a transitory cha- 
racter ; it was not the mere result of acute 
grief, nor the effect of any habitual melancholy. 
Although his sorrows might have contributed 
to strengthen it, it had its origin in a religious 
feeling. Like St. Paul, he desired to depart to 
be with Christ, which to him was far better. 
He longed to be able to unite his voice with 
hers he had lost, in singing the song of the 
Lamb, and to participate in that " fulness of 
joy" which " God hath prepared for those who 
love him." " I have had all my life," he says, 
in the paper to which allusion has been already 
made, and which was written the very year he 
lost his wife, " a desire, occasionally a very 
strong one, to die, owing, in some degree, to 
the consciousness of my moral infirmities, and 
of my frequent derelictions. My affection for 
my wife and children, and my attachment to 
my parish, have sometimes checked this desire, 
though for short intervals only." 

These few words seem to lay open the very 
secret of his soul. While he was blasting 
rocks, levelling roads, building bridges, fertiliz- 
ing fields, improving the morals and promoting 
the happiness of his flock, the expressions just 
cited prove what was the moving principle by 



64 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

which he was actuated. That which induced 
him to become the benefactor of these districts 
— that which led him to devote so much time 
to the prosecution of his plans, was the ever- 
present thought of death and eternity ; and the 
habitual remembrance of the responsibility at- 
tached to talents, and to opportunities of use- 
fulness. He knew that his soul would be re- 
quired of him ; he desired that it might be so 
speedily : and, in order that he might hear the 
joyful sound, " Well done, good and faithful 
servant," he dedicated every faculty he pos- 
sessed to the interests of others, living himself 
by faith in the Son of God, and resting entirely 
on his propitiation. 

His patience and resignation not only under 
this, but under every other affliction that it 
pleased God to award to him during the whole 
course of his life, were striking and exemplary. 
After the first bitterness of grief was over, his 
soul always seemed " to be girding itself up," 
and, as it were, " stretching its wings" in ex- 
pectation of that joyful period, when it should 
leave mortality behind, and soar to the regions 
of everlasting blessedness — to join " the innu- 
merable company of angels and the general 
assembly and church of the first-born." "Mil- 
lions of times," he continues, in the paper men- 
tioned above, " have I besought God to enable 
me to surrender myself with entire and filial 
submission to his will, either to live or to die : — 
and to bring me into such a state of resignation, 
as neither to wish, nor to say, nor to do, nor to 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 65 

undertake any thing, but what He, who only 
is wise and good, sees to be best." 

The following extract from a letter which he 
wrote to a lady, who had been tried by many 
successive bereavements, in the hope of con- 
vincing her that such dispensations are per- 
mitted, to strengthen our graces, and to promote 
our spiritual refinement, will illustrate his lively 
faith and fervent piety, as well as the simple 
and original mode in which he was accustomed 
to pour out the language of his heart in episto- 
lary converse. " I have before me two stones, 
which are in imitation of precious stones. 
They are both perfectly alike m colour ; they 
are of the same water, clear, pure, and clean ; 
yet there is a marked difference between them, 
as to their lustre and brilliancy. One has a 
dazzling brightness, while the other is dull, so 
that the eye passes over it, and derives no 
pleasure from the sight. What can be the rea- 
son of such a difference 1 It is this. The one 
is cut but in a few facets; the other has ten 
times as many. These facets are produced by 
a very violent operation ; it is requisite to cut, 
to smooth, and polish. Had these stones 
been endued with life, so as to have been ca- 
pable of feeling what they underwent, the one 
which has received eighty facets would have 
thought itself very unhappy, and would have 
envied the fate of the other, which, having re- 
ceived but eight, had undergone but a tenth 
part of its sufferings. Nevertheless, the ope- 
ration being over, it is done for ever : the dif- 

5 



66 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

ference between the two stones always remains 
strongly marked ; that which has suffered but 
little, is entirely eclipsed by the other, which 
alone is held in estimation, and attracts atten- 
tion. -May not this serve to explain the saying 
of our Saviour, whose words always bear some 
reference to eternity : ' Blessed are they that 
mourn, for they shall be comforted/ Blessed, 
whether we contemplate them apart, or in com- 
parison with those who have not passed 
through so many trials. O ! that we were 
always able to cast ourselves into his arms, 
like little children — to draw near unto him, like 
helpless lambs — and ever to ask of him pa- 
tience, resignation, and entire surrender to his 
•will, faith, trust, and a heartfelt obedience to 
the commands which he gives to those who 
are willing to be his disciples. \ The Lord 
God will wipe away tears from off all faces, 9 
Isa. xxv, 8." 

Mrs. Oberlin's death was deeply felt among 
the poor people of the Ban de la Roche ; for 
although less active and energetic than her 
husband, she had always evinced the liveliest- 
interest in their concerns, sought to administer 
to their wants, both secular and spiritual, and 
to assuage their griefs. 

Her loss was in some degree supplied to her 
own family by a pious orphan, named Louisa 
Schepler, who had already lived eight years 
in Oberlin's service, and who now undertook 
the management of his household and the care 
of his childreg. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 67 

She was at this time twenty-three years of 
age ; a sensible, pleasing-looking young wo- 
man, of mild and gentle manners, habited in 
the costume of the peasants of the country. 
She had been a kind of helper in the village of 
Waldbach, and long one of its most active and 
zealous governesses; but her health was be- 
ginning to be impaired by the severe colds she 
took in the snows. This circumstance did not, 
however, lessen her usefulness ; and no sooner 
had she accepted the station of housekeeper to 
the cher papa, than, refusing offers of marriage, 
she took the resolution of devoting herself to 
his service, and would never accept any salary, 
but lived in his family rather as a friend than 
a servant. What her few wants required she 
asked for — nothing more ; and on some occa- 
sions, when Oberlin endeavoured, through in- 
direct channels, to put money into her hands, 
she, conjecturing the source from whence it 
came, uniformly returned it. 

The following note, dated " Waldbach, First 
of the New Year, 1793," addressed by Louisa 
to her benefactor, is a sweet little proof of her 
disinterested and grateful affection : — 

" Dear and Beloved Papa, — Permit me, at 
the commencement of the new year, to request 
a favour which I have long desired. As I am 
now really independent, that is to say, as I have 
now no longer my father nor his debts to at- 
tend to, I beseech you, dear papa, not to refuse 
me the favour of making me your adopted 



68 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

daughter. Do not, I entreat you, give me 
any more wages ; for as you treat me like your 
child in every other respect, I earnestly wish 
you to do so in this particular also. Little is 
needful for the support of my body. My shoes 
and stockings, and sabots, will cost something, 
but when I want them I can ask you for them, 
as a child applies to its father. 

" O ! I entreat you, dear papa, grant me 
this favour, and condescend to regard me as 
your most tenderly attached daughter, 

"Louisa Schepler." 

The humble request was acceded to, and 
Louisa was ever afterward considered as one 
of Oberlin's own children. 

I shall here introduce the folio wing- interest- 
ing letter, because it presents so lively a pic- 
ture of the domestic happiness enjoyed under 
the good pastor's roof at Waldbach, and of the 
mode of proceeding there, at this period. It 
is dated March 11th, 1793. 

■ During the space of nearly thirty years, in 
which M. Oberlin has been Christian pastor of 
this canton, he has completely changed it. The 
language is, from an unintelligible patois, altered 
into pure French ; the manners of the people, 
without degenerating, are civilized ; and igno- 
rance is banished without injuring the simpli- 
city of their character. Many of the women 
belonging to his parishes, trained for the pur- 
pose under his pastoral care and instruction, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 69 

(and called conductrices,) assist him in his oc- 
cupations. They teach reading, writing, and the 
elements of geography, in the different villages 
where they reside ; and through their medium 
the children are instructed in many necessary 
things, but, above all, have the seeds of religion 
and morality sown in their hearts. The ex- 
cellence of these schools is so well established 
and appreciated, that girls of the middle ranks 
are sent to him from distant parts, and the title 
of a scholar of Pastor Oberlin is no less than 
a testimonial of piety, cleverness, and gentle 
manners. His countenance is open, affection- 
ate, and friendly, and bears a strong impress of 
benevolence. His conversation is easy, flow- 
ing, and full of imagination,* yet always adapted 
to the capacity of those to whom he is speak- 
ing. In the evening we accompanied him a 
league on his way back to Waldbach. We had 
a wooded hill to ascend ; the sun was just set- 
ting, and it was a beautiful evening. ' What 
sweet thoughts and pious sentiments you have 
uttered, during this interesting walk,' said M. 
Oberlin, in a tone of confidence ; for he con- 
sidered us as friends to religion, and servants 
of God. Our hearts were indeed in unison ; 
and he related to us the circumstances of his past 
life, and spoke of his views and ideas, and the 
fear and love of God, in a most touching manner. 

* " Although Oberlin narrated with the vivacity of a 
painter," says Mr. Heisch, who knew him intimately, 
" he was extremely strict as to facts, and in all his inves- 
tigations paid the utmost regard to integrity and truth." 



70 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

Sometimes we stood still to admire the beauties 
of nature, and at others to listen with earnest 
attention to his impressive discourse. One mo- 
ment was particularly affecting; when, stop- 
ping about half way up the hill, he answered 
in the softest tone to our question, — ' Ja ich bin 
glucklich,' ('Yes, I am happy.') These words 
are seldom uttered by an inhabitant of this 
world, and they were so delightful from the 
mouth of one who is a stranger to all the 
favours of fortune — to all the allurements of 
luxury — and who knows no other joys than 
those which religion and benevolence impart, 
that we longed to live like him, that we might 
also participate in the same happiness. 

" The moon rose in all her majesty, and 
night drew on, before we recollected that the 
time to return was approaching ; when Pastor 
Oberlin exclaimed, ' If five years are necessary 
to bring a ray of light from Sirius to this world, 
though travelling at the rate of twelve millions 
of miles in a minute, how much swifter must 
the communication of spirits be ! Dan. ix, 21. 
What is so swift as thought V and then he 
imaged to us the facility with which he appre- 
hended we should approach one another in a 
future state. 

" The following morning we set off to return 
the visit which he had paid us on the preceding 
day. We found the worthy pastor in his morn- 
ing gown; it was plain, but whole and clean. 
He was just on the point of concluding a 
lecture ; his pupils had, like their master, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 71 

something soft, indeed almost heavenly, in 
their look. 

" The house stands well, and has, from the 
garden side, a romantic view ; in every part of 
it that kind of elegance, which is the result of 
order and cleanliness, prevails. The furniture 
is simple ; yet it suggests to you that you are 
in the residence of no ordinary man ; the walls 
are covered with maps, drawings, and vignettes, 
and texts of Scripture are written over all the 
doors. That above the dining-room door is, 
* Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst 
after righteousness ; for they shall be filled.' 
And over the others are texts enjoining love to 
God and our neighbour. The good man im- 
plicitly follows the divine command to write 
them over the door-posts.* On our first en- 
trance he gave us, each, as a welcome, a 
printed text, 'Abide in me, and I in you,' ' Seek 
those things which are above,' &c. His study 
is a peculiar room, and contains rather a well- 
chosen, than numerous, selection of books in 
French and German, chiefly for youth. The 
walls are covered with engravings, portraits of 
eminent characters, plates of insects and ani- 
mals, and coloured drawings of minerals and 
precious stones ; it is, in short, literally papered 
with useful pictures relative to natural history 
and other interesting subjects. 

"The dinner commenced with a blessing. 
His children, two maids, and a girl who re- 

* See Deut. vi, 6, 7, 8, 9, and xi, 18, 19, 20. 



72 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN-. 

ceives her instruction there, were at the table ; 
there was a remarkable expression of softness 
in all their countenances. 

" Oberlin has a peculiarly happy method of 
improving occurrences, under the form of si- 
miles ; and we are mistaken in supposing him 
a mystic. ' The gospel,' said he, ' is my stand- 
ard. I should be afraid of trusting myself 
alone without it.' He then related to us many 
of the difficulties he had to encounter, and the 
sacrifices he had to make, at the commence- 
ment of his career in the Ban de la Roche. 
1 But now,' continued he, checking himself, 
* let me observe, it is as great a fault to talk of 
our own virtues as of the faults of others.' 

" It is surprising to witness the sound sense, 
refinement, and superiority of mind, evinced by 
these simple peasants ; the very servants are 
w r ell educated, and are clothed with that child- 
like spirit, which is one of the truest tests of 
Teal religion. One of them, who is a widow, 
made many good remarks to us on the duties 
of married life. ' In order to introduce and 
preserve domestic peace,' said she, i let us 
turn to Him who is peace.' 

" I am writing this at his table, while he is 
busy preparing leather gloves for his peasant 
children. His family are around him, engaged 
in their different avocations ; his eldest son, 
Frederic, is giving a lesson to some of the little 
ones, in which amusement and instruction are 
judiciously blended ; and the cher papa, without 
desisting from his employment, frequently puts 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 73 

in a word. He took me this morning into his 
work-shop, where there is a turner's lathe, a 
press, a complete set of carpenter's tools, also 
a printing-press, and one for bookbinding. I 
assisted him in colouring a quire of paper, which 
is intended for covers of school-books. He gives 
scarcely any thing to his people but what has 
been, in some measure, prepared by his own or 
his children's hands. 

" He will never leave this place. A much 
better living was once offered to him — ' No,' 
said he, ' I have been ten years learning every 
head in my parish, and obtaining an inventory 
of their moral, intellectual, and domestic wants ; 
I have laid my plan. I must have ten years to 
carry it into execution, and the ten following to 
correct their faults and vices.' 

" Pastor Oberlin is too modest and generous 
not to bear testimony to the worth of his prede- 
cessor, who had begun to clear this wilderness, 
and to raise the superstructure, which he has so 
beautifully completed. 

" Yesterday I found him encircled by four or 
five families who had been burned out of their 
houses ; he was dividing among them articles 
of clothing, meat, assignats, books, knives, 
thimbles, and coloured pictures for the child- 
ren, whom he placed in a row according to their 
ages, and then left them to take what they pre- 
ferred. The most perfect equality reigns in his 
house ; children, servants, boarders, are all 
treated alike ; their places at table change, that 
each in turn may sit next to him, with the ex- 



7 4 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

ception of Louisa, his housekeeper, who of 
course presides, and his two maids, who sit at 
the bottom of the table. As it is his custom to 
salute every member of his family, night and 
morning, these two little maids come very re- 
spectfully curtseying to him, and he always 
gives them his hand, and inquires after their 
health, or wishes them good night. All are 
happy, and appear to owe much of their happi- 
ness to him. They seem to be ready to sacri- 
fice their life to save his. The following reply 
was made by one of his domestics, on his ques- 
tioning her about her downcast looks during 
some trivial indisposition : ■ I fear, dear papa, 
there will be no servants in heaven, and that I 
shall lose the happiness of waiting upon you.' 

•; Oberlin appears to be looking forward to 
his eternal home with holy confidence and joy- 
ful hope." 

The following are specimens of the texts re- 
ferred to in the preceding letter. They were 
printed by Oberlin himself. He always kept a 
large supply of them, and distributed thousands 
and tens of thousands of them to his friends 
and visiters, often writing a few appropriate 
words on the back of the paper, or some short 
sentence expressive of his affectionate remem- 
brance. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 75 



My mother and my brethren 

are those who 

hear the word of God 

and do it. 

Luke viii, 21. 



And let us consider 

one another, 

to provoke unto love, 

and 

to good w r orks. 

Heb. x, 24. 



Sometimes, instead of a text, a few verses 
were inscribed on the cards. 



Thou, my God, who gav'st me being, 
Know'st full well this heart of mine ; 
What its real wants, its wishes, 
Known and mark'd by love divine. 
Childlike, then, in thee confiding, 
On thy word alone I rest ; 
Grant thy grace, w r ith every virtue 
Which I need to please thee best. 



Oberlin's house was, as the writer of the 
preceding letter remarks, literally papered with 
pictures, inscriptions, verses from the Bible, 
and directions for missionary and other prayers ; 



76 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

and on the door of one of them the Moravian 
. text-book was fastened. The inscription placed 
on that of another will give some idea of the 
cordial and warm reception with which he 
always greeted his visiters, and formed, indeed, 
throughout, the law by which they were go- 
verned : — 

" Constant goodness. 
Steadfast sweetness. 
Charity vigorous and unalterable." 

Toward the latter end of the year 1793, 
Oberlin's eldest son Frederic, to whom he was 
most tenderly attached, entered the army as a 
volunteer, and was one of the first who were 
killed, being at this time in the twenty-fourth 
year of his age. 

His father's patient resignation and submis- 
sion to the will of God shone forth in as re- 
markable a manner on this afflicting occasion 
as they had done on the death of his wife. 

" I went soon afterward," writes Mr. Heisch, 
"to Waldbach, and naturally expected to find a 
tinge of melancholy spread over the family at 
the parsonage ; but instead of that, I observed 
only an air of quiet seriousness, and the usual 
tone of reciprocal communication was uninter- 
rupted among them. They spoke of Frederic 
not as of the dead, but as of one gone before 
them to heaven, where they confidently hoped, 
sooner or later, to meet him again. Every 
thing proceeded as usual, except in rather a 
more serious manner, while they thus con- 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 77 

versed about him, and it was evident to all 
around them that they placed the most unlim- 
ited confidence in God's unerring goodness." 

The firm belief that every event of our lives 
is under the guidance and direction of a super- 
intending Providence, and that Infinite Wisdom 
can, from a variety of dispensations, produce a 
uniformity of good, and an uninterrupted series 
of benefits, formed, indeed, a leading trait in 
Oberlin's character; in proportion as he suf- 
fered under affliction his mind seemed to open 
to the consolations of faith ; and it is not sur- 
prising that the admonitions and example of one 
so much beloved and respected should have 
been blessed to other individuals, more espe- 
cially those of his domestic circle, and that, 
influenced by the same sentiments, they should 
have been enabled to utter the same language, 
and to act upon the same principles. Happy 
are those who can thus trace the hand of God 
in every circumstance, prosperous or adverse 
— who can regard even the heaviest trials as 
an intended means of sanctifi cation, and of 
drawing us nearer to Jesus : — and hence, learn- 
ing to " glory in tribulation," can anticipate with 
joyful hope that period " when sorrow and sigh- 
ing shall flee away." 



78 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 



CHAPTER VI. 

Unmolested state of the Ban de la Roche during the 
period of the revolution — Oberlin's generous renunciation 
of his own interests for the sake of his parishioners — His 
school for the children of foreigners — His sentiments re- 
specting the payment of tithes — Letter containing a plan 
for their disbursement — His influence in exciting a spirit 
of Christian charity among his people — Account of Sophia 
Bernard, &c. — Oberlin becomes a correspondent of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society — Letters addressed by 
him to members of the London committee — Mode of col- 
lecting subscriptions and donations for charitable purposes 
in the Ban de la Roche — Letter to his scholars. 

During the period of the revolution, which 
was at that time agitating the country, and 
plunging the people into misery and distress, 
Oberlin was, like the rest of the clergy, de- 
prived of his scanty income. Soon after its 
commencement, indeed, it had been agreed by 
the heads of the parish that a collection of one 
thousand four hundred francs should be made 
for him by persons going about from house to 
house for the purpose ; but although their 
benevolent efforts were exerted to the utmost, 
they could not raise, during the year 1789, 
more than one thousand one hundred and thirty- 
three francs, and in the following one not so 
many as four hundred. This sum therefore, 
for two successive years, constituted nearly his 
sole revenue ; for no fees were admitted. " My 
people," he used to say, " are born, married, 
and buried, free of expense, at least as far as 
their clergyman is concerned." 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 79 

At length the reign of terror, which had for 
the last four years been preparing, by the gra- 
dual breaking down of every religious and so- 
cial tie, raged in all its horror, spreading, like 
the sirocco of the desert, devastation, famine, 
and dismay. The Ban de la Roche alone 
seemed to be an asylum of peace in the midst 
of war and carnage. Though every kind of 
worship was interdicted throughout France, 
and almost all the clergy of Alsace, men of 
learning, (among whom was his elder brother, 
Professor Oberlin,) talents, and property, were 
imprisoned, Pastor Oberlin was allowed to con- 
tinue his work of benevolence and instruction 
unmolested.* His house, in fact, became the 
retreat of many individuals of different religious 
persuasions, and of distinguished rank, who 
fled thither, under the influence of terror, from 
Strasburg and its environs, and who always re- 
ceived the most open-hearted and cordial recep- 
tion, though it endangered his own situation. 
11 1 once," says a gentleman, who was then re- 
siding at Waldbach, " saw a chief actor of the 
revolution in Oberlin's house, and in that at- 

* Once, indeed, in the year 1789, he was cited before 
the supreme council of Alsace, and had to clear himself 
from the accusation of having induced his parishioners to 
enrol themselves under the banners of Joseph the Second. 
He was not merely acquitted, but the court, informed by 
means of this proceeding of his virtues, and of the good 
that he had effected, after pronouncing judgment in his 
favour, expressed regret that so estimable an individual 
should have been drawn from his solitude, to the inter- 
ruption of the exercise of his charitable labours. 



80 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

mosphere he seemed to have lost his sanguinary 
disposition, and to have changed the fierceness 
of the tiger for the gentleness of the lamb." 

It is pleasing to see how a Christian minister 
could meet the difficulties of times like these, 
and how one of Oberlin's courage and aptitude 
could make the circumstances of so alarming 
a period bend to his aim of profiting those com- 
mitted to his charge. I will here insert a pa- 
per which he addressed to the younger mem- 
bers of his flock, in 1794, and wherein he took 
advantage of the actual state of the govern- 
ment to teach them what true republicans 
should really be : — 

" Young people are precious in the sight of 
God and of good men, when they are truly 
what they ought to be — noble-minded, coura- 
geous, diligent, modest, pious, humble, docile, 
willing to employ all their energies for the 
welfare of their families, full of respect toward 
their superiors, and desirous of keeping the 
commandments. 

11 1 desire that the numerous members of the 
French republic should be animated by truly 
republican sentiments. I wish them to under- 
stand that public happiness constitutes private 
happiness, and that every individual ought there- 
fore to endeavour to live for the public good;- 
and to remember that his actions will only se- 
cure the favour and love of God according to 
the motives from which they are performed. 

" We are republicans, when we neither live, 
nor act, nor undertake any thing, nor choose a 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 81 

profession or situation, nor settle in life, except 
for the public good. 

" We are republicans when, from love to the 
public, we endeavour, by precept as well as 
by example, to stimulate our children to active 
beneficence ; and seek to render them useful 
to others, by turning their attention to such 
pursuits as are likely to increase the public 
prosperity. 

" We are republicans when we endeavour 
to imbue the minds of our children with the 
love of science, and with such knowledge as 
may be likely, in mature life, to make them 
useful in the stations they are called to occupy; 
and when we teach them to ' love their neigh- 
bours as themselves.' 

" Lastly, we are republicans, when we pre- 
serve our children from that self-interested 
spirit which, at the present day, seems to have 
gained more ascendency than ever over a 
nation whose people have, notwithstanding, 
sworn to regard each other, and to love each 
other as brethren, but the greater part of whom 
care only for themselves, and labour only for 
the public good when they are compelled to 
do so. Ah ! far from us be this infernal spi- 
rit, as anti-republican as it is anti-christian. 

" O, may you, my young friends, be counted 
henceforth among the active benefactors of 
your country. 

"O, may you render yourselves worthy of 
this honourable title, by endeavouring to devote 
to the public good, and to the general happiness, 

6 



82 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

your strength, your abilities, your leisure, and 
your talents ; and by dedicating to this purpose 
all your attainments in knowledge, philosophy, 
and science. 

" You will then become precious in the sight 
of all good men, and God will protect and love 
you, and cause your undertakings to prosper. 
He will also one day recompense your faithful- 
ness, by loading you with honour, and glory, 
and power, and riches, and happiness, and by 
saying to you, in the presence of the assembled 
universe, ' Well done, good and faithful servant; 
thou hast been faithful over a few things, I will 
make thee ruler over many things ; enter thou 
into the joy of thy Lord," Matt, xxv, 23. O 
God, grant that the republic, and all true repub- 
licans, may prosper. Amen." 

Upon the reopening of the churches, in 
1795, that benevolent renunciation of his own 
interests for the good of his flock, which, as I 
have frequently had occasion to observe, formed 
so distinguished a feature in Oberlin's charac- 
ter, was strikingly displayed ; for he declared 
that in consequence of their reduced means he 
was willing henceforth, as long as God should 
grant him strength to do so, to serve them 
without any given salary, and that he wanted 
no annual collections ; adding, that as every 
one knew how to find his way to the parsonage, 
he might bring his share, to whatever amount, 
and at whatever time he pleased ; for he con- 
sidered it unjust that the poor, who were at 
times unable to procure either salt or bread, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLItf. 83 

and who formed the greater part of the com- 
munity, should pay as much as those who were 
in more affluent circumstances. Nor had they, 
he assured them, any reason to fear his dis- 
pleasure, even if they brought nothing at all, 
since he should consider that it was only for 
want of ability to do so ; and it always afforded 
him more gratification to relieve than to oppress 
them. With respect to the payment of the 
schoolmasters also, they were to adopt the same 
plan, that is, to contribute according to their 
means, and to bring whatever they could afford, 
either for this, or other charitable purposes, 
to him, in the form of goods, provisions, or cash. 
This they regularly did ; and his faithful Louisa 
was accustomed to assist him in the judicious 
distribution of the articles or money thus col- 
lected. In return for these gifts, he always 
presented the donors with a few words of ac- 
knowledgment on the back of one of the papers 
on which his texts were printed, and of which 
specimens have been given. He always kept 
the most strict account of every expenditure, 
and was never known to owe even so much as 
a single sou to any person. One of the maxims 
which, among many others, he endeavoured to 
impress upon the minds of his people, was that 
they " ought to avoid debts as they would do 
the evil spirit." 

Notwithstanding the poverty of its inhabit- 
ants, scarcely a mendicant was ever seen in 
the valley, unless indeed some pauper from the 
neighbouring communes, attracted by the well- 



84 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

known disposition of the pastor and his people, 
might have wandered thither to implore that 
assistance which, if deserving, he never failed 
to receive. " Why do you not work V was 
Oberlin's usual interrogation. " Because no 
one will employ me," was the general reply. 
" Well, then, I will employ you. There — car- 
ry these planks — break those stones — fill that 
bucket with water — and I will repay you for 
your trouble." 

Such was his usual mode of proceeding ; and 
idle beggars were taught to come there no 
more. 

But how, it will naturally be asked, were 
Oberlin and his family supported, and even 
enabled to assist others, when deprived not 
only of their little income, but also of the an- 
nual contributions of their parishioners ? 

It appears, indeed, to have been owing to 
the extraordinary interposition of Providence, 
that they were watched over and cared for in 
so peculiar a manner, at a time when many 
individuals were reduced to the most forlorn 
situation, and compelled to forsake their home 
and their country. The gospel reduces to very 
little the sufficiency of the Christian ; and as, 
in the days of greater prosperity, they had 
accustomed themselves to habits of the strictest 
economy and the most rigorous self-denial, in 
order to facilitate their power of assisting others, 
so now, in the season of adversity, God did " not 
leave them comfortless," but supplied all their 
necessary wants, and supported, strengthened, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 85 

and blessed them. The principal circumstance 
that gave Oberlin any uneasiness was the dimi- 
nution in his means of doing good ; and in the 
year 1794, with the hope of increasing it, he 
announced his intention of undertaking the 
charge of ten or twelve pupils whose education 
should devolve almost entirely upon himself, 
although he had to provide for his own family 
of six children, the youngest of whom was now 
ten years of age, and to superintend their in- 
struction. 

The children of several foreigners of distinc- 
tion were soon committed to his charge : and, 
in the true spirit of philanthropy, he appropriated 
a considerable part of the emoluments which he 
received for their education to the improvements 
and institutions of his parish. 

The duty of devoting a certain portion of his 
property to charitable purposes was a subject 
that had weighed heavily on his mind for some 
years previous to the revolution. He had hap- 
pened to read one day, with more attention than 
usual, the accounts of the tithes in the books 
of Moses, and had been so struck with some of 
them as to resolve from that moment to devote 
three tithes of all he possessed to the service 
of God and the poor. The resolution was no 
sooner made than put into execution, for what- 
ever Oberlin conceived it to be his duty to do, 
he conscientiously, and without delay, set about 
it. From that period till the end of his life, 
even during the most calamitous seasons of the 
revolution, he always scrupulously adhered to 



86 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

the plan, and often said that he " abounded in 
wealth" 

The following letter contains an account of 
the passages that struck him so particularly, 
and of the manner in which he set about the 
dedication of the dimes : — 

" My Dear Friend, — You ask me for some 
explanation respecting the different tithes which 
God has commanded us to pay. I will tell you 
how I manage. I endeavour to devote three 
tithes of all that I earn, of all that I receive, 
and of all my revenue, of whatever name or 
nature it may be, to his service, or to useful 
objects. 

" For this purpose I keep three boxes ; the 
first for the first tithe ; the second for the se- 
cond ; and the third box for the third tithe. 

" When I cannot pay ready money all at 
once, I mark how much I owe upon a bit of 
paper, which I put into the box ; and when, on 
the contrary, a demand occurs which ought to 
be defrayed by one of the three allotments, 
and there is not sufficient money deposited, I 
advance the sum, and make the box my debtor, 
by marking upon it how much it owes me. 

" By this means I am always able to assist 
in any public or charitable undertaking ; and 
as God has himself declared that * it is more 
blessed to give than to receive,' I look upon 
this regular disbursement of part of my property 
rather in the light of a privilege than a burden. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 87 

u The first of the afore-mentioned boxes contains a 
deposite for the worship of God. 

"I put a paper, with the following verses 
from the Old Testament written upon it, into 
this box : — 

" And all the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of 
the land or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord's : it is holy 
unto the Lord. — Lev. xxvii, 30. 

" Bring ye all the tithes into the storehouse, that there 
may be meat in my house, and prove me now herewith, 
saith the Lord of hosts, if I will not open you the windows 
of heaven, and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not 
be room enough to receive it. — Mai. iii, 10. 

" I devote the contents of this box to the 
building and repairing of churches and school- 
rooms ; the support of governesses ;* and the 
purchase of Bibles and pious books ; in short, 
to any thing connected with divine worship, or 
the extension of the knowledge of our Redeem- 
er's kingdom. 

" My parishioners are at liberty to recall 
from this tithe any present that either genero- 
sity, or the supposition that I expected it, may 
have induced them to make me. 

" The second box contains tithes for useful pur- 
poses. 

" I have written the following passages in it: — 

" Thou shalt duly tithe all the increase of thy seed, that 
the field bringeth forth year by year. And thou shalt eat 

* For his infant schools. 



88 MEMOIRS OF OBERLXN. 

before the Lord thy God, in the place which he shall 
choose to place his name there, the tithe of thy corn, of 
thy wine, and of thine oil, and the firstlings of thy herds 
and of thy flocks ; that thou mayest learn to fear the Lord 
thy God always. And if the way be too long for thee, so 
that thou art not able to carry it ; or if the place be too 
far from thee, which the Lord thy God shall choose to set 
bis name there, when the Lord thy God hath blessed thee ; 
then shalt thou turn it into money, and bind up the money 
in thy hand, and shalt go unto the place which the Lord 
thy God shall choose : and thou shalt bestow that money 
for whatsoever thy soul lusteth after, for oxen, or for sheep, 
or for wine, or for strong drink, or for whatsoever thy soul 
desireth: and thou shalt eat there before the Lord thy 
God, and thou shalt rejoice, thou and thy household, and 
the Levite that is within thy gates ; thou shalt not forsake 
him ; for he hath no part nor inheritance with thee. — 
Deut. xiv, 22-27. 

" Three times in a year shall all thy males appear before 
the Lord thy God in the place which he shall choose : in 
the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, 
and in the feast of tabernacles ; and they shall not appear 
before the Lord empty. — Deut. xvi, 16. 

"I employ this tithe for a variety of pur- 
poses : — 

"1. For the improvement of the roads to the 
churches and schools. 

" 2. For the schoolmasters' salaries. 

"3. For all works of public utility. 

" 4. For the little expenses incurred by my 
becoming godfather. 

" 5. For Sunday dinners to my poor people 
of the other villages. [My parishioners might 
add to this catalogue.] 

"6. For the churchwardens. [For whether 
they do their duty voluntarily from love to God, 
or make a claim upon me, I always pay them well.] 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 89 

" 7. For expenses incurred among the pea- 
santry of Belmont, Foudai, and Zolbacli. 

" 8. For what the poor of Waldbach expend, 
by inviting the poor of the other villages to 
come and see them. 

" 9. For the repairing of injuries. 

" The third box contains tithes for the poor. 
[That is, it contains the third tithe every three 
years, or the thirtieth every year.] 

" I have written there the following texts : — 

" At the end of three years thou shalt bring forth all the 
tithe of thine increase the same year, and shalt lay it up 
within thy gates. And the Levite, (because he hath no 
part nor inheritance with thee,) and the stranger, and the 
fatherless, and the widow, which are within thy gates, shall 
come, and shall eat and be satisfied ; that the Lord thy 
God may bless thee in all the work of thy hand which 
thou doest.— Deut. xiv, 28, 29. 

" And when ye reap the harvest of your land, thou shalt 
not wholly reap the corners of thy field, neither shalt thou 
gather the gleanings of thy harvest. And thou shalt not 
glean thy vineyard, neither shalt thou gather every grape 
of thy vineyard ; thou shalt leave them for the poor and 
stranger : I am the Lord your God. — Lev. xix, 9, 10. 

" I devote the contents of this box to the 
service of the poor ; to the compensation of 
losses occasioned by fire ;* to wood, flannel, and 
bread, for those who stand in need, &c, &c." 

It must not be supposed from this statement, 
that Oberlin's benevolence was, however, con- 

* Oberlin one year devoted part of the contents of this 
box to the purchase of a large fire-engine, as well as of a 
small one that could be easily transported to the moun- 
tainous districts. 



90 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

fined to the Ban de la Roche, for the knowledge 
of several pious and excellent institutions had 
reached the secluded valley before it spread to 
the rest of France. One of the first that at- 
tracted his attention, as I have observed in a 
previous chapter, was the Missionary Society. 
No sooner had he learned that there were pious 
Christians who left their homes to convey to 
the benighted heathen the promises of the gos- 
pel, than he parted with all his plate, with the 
exception of one silver spoon,* and contributed 
the proceeds of the sale to that noble under- 
taking, as he rightly designated it, only regret- 
ting that he was unable to send more. 

He was indeed himself actuated by the ge- 
nuine missionary spirit ; and, in the early part 
of his ministry, he for some time hesitated whe- 
ther h% should not accept an invitation to under- 
take a station in Pennsylvania. For two years 
a pastor had in vain been sought to fill the va- 
cant post. "When informed of this circumstance, 
Oberlin, considering it to be the duty of a mi- 
nister of Christ to repair whither others were 
unable to go, and thinking that the Ban de la 
Roche might be more easily provided for than 
so distant a charge, expressed his readiness to 
set off. His wife participated in his sentiments ; 
but, while they were waiting for more specific 
directions, the war broke out between England 
and America, and prevented their departure. 
From that time he rejected every station that 

* Oberlin bequeathed this silver spoon to the Missionary- 
Institution at Basle. 






MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 91 

offered, showing himself to be proof against 
repeated and urgent solicitations. " Some per- 
sons," said he one day, " think it a merit in me 
to have refused more considerable cures than 
this ; but you," continued he, addressing him- 
self to a military gentleman, who had been ex- 
pressing his surprise that he had not accepted 
the charge of larger parishes, " if your general 
had given you a post to defend, would you quit 
it without positive orders V 9 On being an- 
swered in the negative, "Well," said he, "God 
has confided this flock to my care ; and why 
should I abandon it 1 Where could I find bet- 
ter parishioners, or more grateful hearts ?" 

His imagination had been powerfully affected 
also by a description of the wretched condition 
of the negro slaves in the West Indies, em- 
ployed in the cultivation of sugar and coffee, 
which induced him to form the resolution of 
never again tasting either the one or the other, 
a resolution to which he strictly adhered, al- 
though, having been accustomed to them from 
his earliest infancy, it cost him some little self- 
denial to submit to the deprivation. 

" His fidelity in great and little things indis- 
criminately," says Mr. Legrand, " was so scru- 
pulous that he would have believed it displeasing 
to God, in the remembrance of whose presence 
he habitually lived, to have written a word, or 
even a single letter, without care." 

His extreme devotedness to the interests of 
his flock, combined with his peculiarly endear- 
ing and affectionate manners, necessarily caused 



92 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

Oberlin to be loved and revered as a father. 
Every lip became eloquent in his praise ; every 
voice pronounced his name with grateful bene- 
dictions ; and the stranger who visited the pine- 
covered hills and verdant dales of the once wild 
and forsaken Ban de la Roche, found there, in 
the place of a set of rude and ignorant savages, 
an industrious, decent, orderly, and well-in- 
formed peasantry, many of whom had been so 
far initiated into both the doctrines and the spirit 
of the New Testament, as to live in the exer- 
cise of that love which is said to be the " fulfill- 
ing of the law," and which the apostle inculcates 
as a necessary mark of true religion when he 
says, "He who loveth God must love his bro- 
ther also." 

The exemplary conduct and sincere piety of 
some of these individuals, indeed, proved that 
they had not received "the grace of God in 
vain." Among other fruits of faith, their charity 
to orphans was particularly striking. When a 
poor father or mother died, leaving a numerous 
family, it was a thing of course for some poor 
person to offer to take upon himself the charge 
and care of the orphans ; so that many of the 
households contained one or two of these 
adopted children, and they seldom thought of 
mentioning that they were not their own. 

Three individuals, more particularly noted in 
the annals of the Ban de la Roche for their dis- 
interested benevolence, were Sophia Bernard 
and Catherine Scheidecker, of Foudai, and Ma- 
ria Schepler, of the hamlet of La Hutte, near 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 93 

Belmont, whose names will appear again in a 
subsequent part of this memoir. 

The former, Sophia Bernard, although de- 
pending for subsistence on her own labour and 
the scanty produce of a morsel of land, resolved 
in early life to devote herself entirely to the 
care of orphans, and with this view collected, 
first under her father's roof, and afterward in the 
old parsonage, several children, whose parents 
were of different denominations, and taught 
them to spin cotton in order to assist in their 
maintenance, which would otherwise have de- 
volved entirely on herself. Before she married, 
and when her little family already consisted of 
seven children, she and her sister Madeleine* 
received a letter from a poor tailor, named Tho- 
mas, who lived in a neighbouring Roman Catho- 
lic village, entreating them, from what he had 
heard of their charitable deeds, to take charge 
of his three little children, all of whom were 
under four years old, as his wife was near her 
confinement, and he was utterly unable to pro- 
vide for them. 

Following the benevolent impulse of the 
moment, or rather the dictates of that benevo- 
lence by which they were habitually actuated, 
the two sisters immediately set out, although 
the evening was already far advanced, and they 
had dangerous roads to traverse, with their 
baskets on their backs. At length, regardless 

* Now Madeleine Bernard, the regent of Belmont's 
wife, a truly exemplary character. She and Sophia mar- 
ried two brothers. 



94 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

of fatigue and exertion, they reached the sum- 
mit of the mountain upon which Thomas's cot- 
tage was situated. Softly approaching it, they 
peeped in at the window, and were confirmed 
in the truth of the statement they had received, 
by the evident marks of wretchedness and po- 
verty that the little apartment exhibited. Upon 
entering it, they found the little creatures in as 
forlorn a condition as the poor man had de- 
scribed, miserably nursed, and weak and dis- 
eased from neglect. They, therefore, without 
further deliberation, wrapped them up in flannel, 
packed them in the baskets at their backs, and 
trudged home with them. But, as their father's 
house would not accommodate so large an ac- 
cession to the family, Sophia hired a servant 
girl, and an additional room, where she fed, 
clothed, nourished, and educated them, so that 
they became strong, healthy, and industrious. 
On some of his neighbours afterward asking 
the tailor how he could allow his children to 
be brought up by Protestants, " O," he replied, 
" if they make such good Protestants of them 
as they are themselves, I shall thank them 
for it." 

Such are the delightful fruits of genuine 
Christian benevolence ! and how strikingly does 
this fact speak for the admonition of many in 
another rank of life from that in which these 
poor women shone so brightly. 

While the good effects of Oberlin's instruc- 
tions and example were thus shedding their 
benign influence upon the more immediate 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 95 

scene of his pastoral labours, his name and 
zeal became known in England ; and in the 
year 1804, on the first establishment of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society in that 
country, it was judged expedient to open a 
correspondence with him, for the sake of form- 
ing a central point for the distribution of Bibles 
in France. 

Being firmly assured that the Scriptures are 
indeed "the power of God unto salvation to 
every one that believeth," he had long and 
ardently desired their general circulation. He 
therefore gladly hailed the proposition, and 
became the first foreign correspondent of that 
society. The large principle on which this 
institution was established admirably suited the 
mind of Oberlin ; and having for the course of 
twenty years prayed expressly for missionaries, 
as well as for a still longer period, " Thy king- 
dom come," it would have been extremely un- 
natural if he had not supported a society, whose 
express object it is to open channels for con- 
veying the streams of the " waters of life" to 
those parched and desolate portions of the earth 
which they have not yet pervaded, and to hold 
out the joyful invitation, " Ho, every one that 
thirsteth, come ye to the waters." 

In conjunction with his youngest son, Henry 
Gottfried, a young man of truly eminent piety 
and much evangelical zeal, Oberlin, under the 
direction of the London committee, shortly 
afterward organized a little society at Wald- 
bach; and through its medium, depositories 



96 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

were established in different parts of France, 
and more than ten thousand copies of the New 
Testament put in circulation. This was some 
years before the Paris Bible Society was insti- 
tuted. The Ban de la Roche became also in 
a manner the cradle of ladies' Bible associa- 
tions, in consequence of a letter addressed by 
the late venerable pastor to the committee of 
the parent society, in which he made mention 
of the three humble but admirable women, 
whose names, and especially that of Sophia 
Bernard, have already appeared in this chapter, 
as suitable persons for taking an active part in 
this work of love, either by reading the Bible 
to their neighbours, or by adopting the simple 
and ingenious plan of lending them the sacred 
volume. The Rev. John Owen, in his History 
of the British and Foreign Bible Society, ad- 
verts to this circumstance, acknowledging the 
obligations we are under to that extraordinary 
man, whom he describes as " uniting the sim- 
plicity of a patriarch with the zeal of an 
apostle." 

The letter referred to is so interesting, that 
no apology appears necessary for inserting it. 
It is dated Waldbach, Nov. 3, 1804: — 

"Accept, my dearest friend, our most un- 
feigned thanks for the sum of thirty pounds 
which you have transmitted to us as a kind 
present from some English friends, for the pur- 
pose of purchasing French and German Bibles 
to distribute among the poor inhabitants of the 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN, 97 

Ban de la Roche and its neighbouring villages, 
in which there are people of four different reli- 
gious denominations, namely, Roman Catholics, 
Lutherans, Reformed, and Anabaptists. May 
God, for Christ's sake, impart his blessing to 
this act of Christian benevolence, in order that 
his name may be glorified, and his kingdom 
come. 

" You will be glad to learn some particulars 
respecting the use which I intend to make of 
this money, 

" I have ordered, and expect soon to receive, 
fifty copies of the French Protestant Bible 
printed at Basle. Though the type is rather 
too small for country people, yet we have great 
reason to bless God for having enabled us to 
procure even these. In the mean time, I have 
made a list of such persons as I consider most 
deserving of so valuable a present. Among the 
large number of individuals and families to 
whom a Bible is a most welcome gift, I first 
put down such characters as are most active 
in promoting the coming of the Redeemer's 
kingdom, and in doing good to the bodies and 
souls of their fellow-creatures. 

" 1. The first Bible shall be given as a pre- 
sent to Sophia Bernard, who is one of the most 
excellent women I know, and, indeed, an orna- 
ment to my parish. While unmarried, she un- 
dertook, with the consent of her parents, the 
support and education of three helpless boys, 
whom their inhuman father had often trampled 
under his feet, and treated in a manner too 

7 



98 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

shocking to relate, when, nearly starving with 
hunger, they ventured to cry out for food. Soon 
afterward she proved the happy means of saving 
the lives of three Roman Catholic children, 
who, without her assistance, would have fallen 
a prey to want and famine. Thus she had the 
management of six children, to whom several 
more were added, belonging to parents of three 
several denominations. She then hired a house 
and a servant girl, and supported the whole of 
the family entirely by her own work, and the 
little money acquired by the industry of the 
children, whom she taught to spin cotton. At 
the same time she proved the greatest blessing 
to the whole village where she lived; for it 
would be impossible for any one to be more in- 
dustrious, frugal, clean, cheerful, and edifying 
by her whole walk and conversation ; more 
ready for every good word and work ; more 
mild and affectionate, and more firm and reso- 
lute in dangers, than she was. Satan once 
so enraged some of her enemies, that they 
threatened to destroy her old tottering cottage, 
but God was graciously pleased to preserve 
her. A fine youth, of a generous disposition, 
made her an offer of marriage, and as she ap- 
peared unwilling to accept him, he declared 
that, if necessary, he would wait ten years to 
sain her hand. She then acknowledged that 
her motive for refusing him was the grief it 
would occasion her to part from her little or- 
phans. " He who takes the mother takes the 
children also," replied the young man. On this 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 99 

condition the marriage took place, and all the 
children were brought up under their mutual 
care in the most excellent manner. They have 
lately taken in some other orphans, whom they 
are training up in the fear and love of God. 
Though these excellent people pass for rather 
rich, yet their income is so limited, and their 
benevolence so extensive, that they sometimes 
hardly know how to furnish themselves with a 
new suit of necessary clothes. I intend to give 
them a Bible, because their own is very often 
lent out in different Roman Catholic villages. 

" 2. A second Bible I intend to give to an 
excellent woman, named Maria Schepler, who 
lives at the opposite end of my extensive parish, 
where the cold is more severe, and the ground 
unfruitful, so that nearly all the householders 
are poor people, who must lend their clothes to 
each other when they intend to go to the Lord's 
supper. This poor woman is also a very re- 
markable character ; and I could say much in 
her praise were I to enter into particulars. 
Though distressed and afflicted in her own 
person and circumstances, yet she is a mother, 
benefactress, and teacher, to the whole village 
in which she lives, and to some neighbouring 
districts too. She takes the most lively interest 
in all that relates to the Redeemer's kingdom 
upon earth, and often groans under a sense of 
the grievous inroads made by the powers of 
darkness. She, also, has brought up several 
orphans without receiving the smallest recom- 
pense ; keeps a free school for females, and 



100 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

makes it a practice to lend her Bible to such, 
as are entirely deprived of it. 

"3. A third Bible present I intend to make 
to an excellent widow woman, Catherine Schei- 
decker, who is, like the former, a mother to 
orphans, and keeps a free school ; so also does 
another young woman, who instructs little chil- 
dren, in a neighbouring village, in such know- 
ledge as may render them useful members of 
society.* 

" I might easily enumerate many more cha- 
racters of a similar description, whose eyes will 
overflow with grateful tears, if they are favoured 
with the present of a Bible. I will make one 
observation as to the Bibles which you may 
send us. It is necessary, in our parts, to have 
a number of copies in readiness to lend out to 
the people of the neighbouring districts, most 
of whom are Roman Catholics ; for if they 
possess a Bible of their own, they are in danger 
of having it taken away by some blind popish 
priests ; whereas, if it is only lent to them, they 
are generally permitted to return it. 

" Finally, farewell ! May God be with you, 
with your congregation, and with all those kind 
friends who have so nobly come forward to our 
assistance. _ 

" John Frederic Oberlin." 

I shall also insert the following letter, ad- 
dressed by Oberlin to a friend in England about 

* Catherine Banzet, who voluntarily attended all the 
knitting schools. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 101 

six months after the last. It alludes to the 
exertions of his predecessor, M. Stouber, and 
relates some anecdotes, to which reference was 
made at the commencement of this work, re- 
specting the avidity with which the Scriptures 
were seized upon at their first introduction into 
the Ban de la Roche : — an avidity which greatly 
increased in Oberlin's time, more especially 
when it became known that he possessed, 
through the medium of the British and Foreign 
Bible Society, an ample supply of copies for 
distribution. 

" Waldbach, June 17, 1805. 

" What shall I say, dearest friend — how 
shall I thank the honourable Bible Society for 
the gift of twenty pounds for the spreading of 
the kingdom of Jesus Christ 1 I will entreat 
God for a rich blessing upon the institution, 
and for wisdom to enable me to dispose of its 
gift in the most effectual manner. 

" You ask if there is a desire for Bibles in 
the interior of France. I have various reasons 
for believing that there is ; though my personal 
observation and knowledge extend to our own 
neighbourhood only.* I must, however, refer 
to what happened a few years ago. The little 
Steinthal was formerly the only Protestant spot 
throughout the whole kingdom of France which 
enjoyed perfect freedom of religious worship. 
This the Roman Catholic clergy could hardly 

* Oberlin never went far from home. He had never 
even seen Paris, nor made any journeys except to Fribourg 
and to St. Dizier. 



102 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

bear, nor comprehend how God could permit 
it ; and envy and displeasure were but too 
visible in the countenances of some of them 
when they happened to converse with any of 
our Protestant clergy on the subject. About 
fifty years ago, God sent my excellent prede- 
cessor, the Rev. Mr. Stouber, here ; a truly 
apostolic man, who obtained considerable re- 
putation throughout all the Catholic neighbour- 
hood. Many Roman Catholics openly declared 
of him — ' This is a man of God ;' and the Lord 
so blessed his labours, that the Steinthal vil- 
lages began to be distinguished from all the 
Roman Catholic villages in the vicinity. He 
sent for fifty French Protestant Bibles from 
Basle, and lent them in the schools, even with 
permission to the scholars to take them home. 
It must be observed that he had them divided 
into three parts, bound in strong parchment, 
making one hundred and fifty volumes. 

" He also distributed many other good 
French books. The result of this measure 
was, that the neighbours were made attentive 
to the Bible. A Roman Catholic one day en- 
tered a house in this place, and after some de- 
sultory talk, during which time he had carefully 
cast his eye around the apartment, he espied in 
the window a thick book with a lock ; having 
heard that Bibles had this appearance, he took 
it up, looked at the title, and asked ' whether 
one could have such a Bible for a crown V On 
receiving an answer in the affirmative, he threw 
down a crown upon the table, and ran hastily 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 103 

out of the cottage and away to his own village, 
with the Bible under his arm, to the astonish- 
ment of every one. From that time the demand 
continually increased; several hundred small 
Bibles from Basle and Biela were partly sold, 
partly given, and partly lent ; and all the Biela 
Bibles in folio, as well as many in quarto, were 
procured from Switzerland, and dispersed among 
the Roman Catholics. Yet many copies were 
taken by the Romish priests from their people 
and burned; sometimes a violent contention 
took place about it. 

" A priest once surprised one of his people 
over the Bible, snatched it from him with bitter 
reproaches, and was going off with it ; when the 
man, who possessed some spirit, and had often 
heard from his neighbours of the priests taking 
away their Bibles, jumped up, snatched his 
hanger, placed himself before the door, and 
cried out, ' Reverend sir, replace the Bible on 
the table. I respect your character ; but a thief 
is no pastor. I will certainly cut you in pieces, 
rather than suffer you to steal a Bible which has 
been kindly lent me.' The priest restored the 
Bible, but ordered the man to return it to the 
owner ; and thus many were returned to us. 

" Before the revolution, I never gave any 
Bibles to the Roman Catholics with my own 
hands, but always through those of my pa- 
rishioners ; since the revolution I have had 
more freedom, so that I may even let the 
Roman Catholics take the sacrament in our 
church, a circumstance that has often hap- 



104 MEMOIRS OF OBERLXN', 

pened.* Now, the priests excite a suspicion 
about the Swiss Bibles, so that many of their 
people do not know what to do respecting them. 
I am, however, in hopes of soon procuring 
some of the Protestant Bibles, which are now 
printing at Paris. About a fortnight ago, I had 
the unexpected pleasure of receiving the thanks 
of an emigrant ex-priest for a Parisian New 
Testament. I wrote to him that I should readily 
offer him a whole Bible, had I any other than a 
Swiss edition, which might appear to him sus- 
picious, though it was so to none who examined 
it by the original. He replied he would thank- 
fully accept it. At last he came to me in per- 
son, and also took a German Bible, and some 
other German books, having learned German 
during his emigration. I beg leave to add that 
many French gentlemen of respectability have 
accepted Bibles from me with, apparently, 
sincere joy; and lately a lady came several 
leagues on horseback in order to request one 
of me." 

Although through Oberlin*s agency the Holy 
Scriptures were not only circulated abroad, but 
also among all the Protestants in his extensive 

* " Oberlin's tolerance," says the Rev. F. Cunning- 
ham, " was almost unbounded. He administered the sa- 
crament to Catholics, Lutherans, and Calvinists at the 
same time, and, because they would not eat the same 
bread, he had, on the plate, bread of different kinds, wafer, 
leavened and unleavened. In every thing the same spirit 
appeared ; and it extended not only to his Catholic, but 
also to his Jewish neighbours, and made him many friends 
among them all." 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 105 

parishes, and in the surrounding Roman Catho- 
lic villages, there was not at this time any re- 
gularly constituted Bible Society in the Ban de 
la Roche. 

" The inhabitants of the different villages," 
says Mrs. Rauscher,* " seem to be actuated by 
some secret and spontaneous movement. They 
assemble together in the evening of certain 
days, when, after reading a few chapters of the 
Bible, they all kneel down and join in im- 
ploring the divine blessing upon the whole vil- 
lage, as well as upon the parish at large, and 
upon every institution designed to circulate the 
truths of the gospel and to bring people nearer 
to God. They then make a collection, which 
is deposited in a box kept for the purpose, and 
reserved there till the time arrives for transmit- 
ting it to those Bible and Missionary Societies 
whose annual reports show that they stand in 
the greatest need." 

A reference to those reports will prove that 
the collections made on some of these occa- 
sions amounted to verv considerable sums.f 

Having been themselves refreshed, and 
cheered, and comforted, by the perusal of the 
sacred volume, Oberlin's parishioners contri- 
buted their little donations in aid of the great 
cause, with a liberality and readiness that 

* Frederica Bienvenue, Oberlm's youngest daughter, 
who was married, in the year 1806, to the Rev. Mr. Raus- 
cher, of Ban*. 

t See the Third, Fifth, Sixth, and Seventh Annual Re- 
ports of the Protestant Paris Bible Society, &c. 



106 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

proved they were influenced in doing so 
by that spirit of love which the blessed gospel 
inculcates. Their own moral wilderness had 
been made to "rejoice and blossom as the rose," 
by the vivifying rays of the Sun of righteous- 
ness, and they naturally and earnestly desired 
that other " waste places might break forth into 
joy and sing together," and that the "word of the 
Lord might have free course and be glorified." 
I will conclude this chapter with the follow- 
ing sweet little letter, addressed by Pastor 
Oberlin to his scholars, on their having pre- 
sented him with some garlands in remembrance 
of the seventieth anniversary of his birth. 

" Waldbach, September IGth, 1810. 

" My Dear Scholars, — I am very sensible 
of the honour you have intended me, in send- 
ing your garlands as a token of your remem- 
brance of my seventieth birth-day, completed 
the 31st of last August. You seem, however, 
to have forgotten that an honour which one 
is conscious of not deserving, is in itself hu- 
miliating and abasing. If, by my feeble exer- 
tions, I have been enabled to be of some utility 
to you, all the honour belongs to God, who has 
kindled in my heart the love I bear you, and 
who has given and preserved my strength till 
this period to carry forward my heart's desire, 
which is your good. 

" The beautiful flowers with which your 
great Creator adorned our country, gave you 
the means of presenting me with this testimony 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 107 

of your united love. These flowers will very- 
soon fade, but the impression they have made 
on my heart will never die, and I earnestly 
pray that you may become unfading flowers in 
the paradise of God. 

" May he bless you, and may he bless the 
persons who labour for your instruction, with 
perseverance and faithfulness, that you may 
prosper, and become useful in the service of 
our dear and beloved Saviour. 

" But I have still one wish : — a wish, that, 
though I am old in years, is always fresh in my 
heart : — a wish that reigns predominant in my 
thoughts, and never forsakes me. It is that my 
parish might make one. solemn feast before 
God, a general and universal dedication, and 
one in which all persons without distinction 
might partake, every one according to his re- 
spective ability. That is, a dedication of the 
heart, in honour and remembrance of, and in 
faith in Him, who shed his blood for us in 
Gethsemane, and permitted himself to be smit- 
ten, scourged, and spit upon, crowned with 
thorns, and nailed to the cross, that we might 
receive the heaven which our sins had forfeit- 
ed. This is the dedication that I so much de- 
sire every soul in my parish might join together 
to* make, — even the surrender of himself to 
Jesus, each one as he is, with all his faults, 
with all his sins, in order to find in him par- 
don, righteousness, sanctification, and redemp- 
tion. — Your affectionate papa, 

" John Frederic Oberlin." 



108 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 



CHAPTER VII. 

Henry Oberlin's removal to Riga — His sister Henriet- 
ta's marriage — Their return to Waldbach — Letter from 
Oberlin to P. J. Heisch, Esq. — Letter from Henry Ober- 
lin to ditto — Mr. Legrand's settlement in the Ban de la 
Roche — Introduction of cotton-spinning ; silk riband ma- 
nufactory, &c. — Termination of a long-impending law- 
suit — Henry Oberlin's death — His father's resignation on 
that occasion, displayed in a letter to Mr. Heisch. 

In the year 1808, Henry Gottfried Oberlin, 
who has been already mentioned as his father's 
active coadjutor in the distribution of Bibles, 
left the Protestant theological school at Stras- 
burg, of which he had for the last two years 
been superintendent, and went to reside as 
private tutor in the family of Count Richter, at 
Riga. 

His sister Henrietta likewise removed into 
Russia during the same year, having married 
the Rev. Mr. Graff, a missionary on the banks 
of the Wolga. 

Oberlin's advancing age, and increasing ina- 
bility for that very active exertion which the 
peculiar situation of his parish required, and 
which he had been accustomed to use, induced 
the former, however, in the year 1813, and Mr. 
and Mrs. Graff, with their family of young chil- 
dren, in the subsequent one, to come and take 
up their residence again under the paternal 
roof at Waldbach. 

The following note, addressed by Oberlin to 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 109 

P. J. Heisch, Esq., speaks of his own increas- 
ing weakness, and alludes, with grateful plea- 
sure, to Henry's return : — 

"Dear, not to be forgotten Friend, — 
On the 5th of December, God restored to me 
my son Henry Gottfried from Russia, who 
now relieves me from part of my labour, though 
there is still so much left to be done that six of 
us could find ample employment. Your re- 
membrance and letter have given me exceed- 
ing joy, and I only regret the impossibility of 
having answered you before. My situation is 
unique in its way ; and my labour seems to in- 
crease as my strength decreases, especially the 
strength of my eyes. For these several years 
past I have been repeatedly threatened with 
sudden death.* Now, thank God, I am very 
well. 

" May God be with you, dear and not to be 
forgotten friend, and with your dear family. It 
gives me no concern to think that we shall 
not see each other again in this world ; — 

* Oberlin had a most extraordinary and serious illness 
during the period of the revolution, in 1794, supposed to 
be brought on by over exertion, and he never appeared to 
have entirely overcome the shock that his constitution 
underwent. The prevailing disposition of the mind some- 
times displays itself during the intervals of delirium, and, 
while his fever lasted, he often distressed poor Louisa, by 
perpetually calling upon her to bring him thousands and 
thousands for the furtherance of his plans. He used often 
to speak afterward of the state of his mind during this 
illness, and of the distinct ideas he had been enabled to 
form of the difference between the natural and spiritual 
man. 



110 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

in the next our intercourse will be more fre- 
quent, more easy, and more delightful. Adieu. 

" Your aged friend of seventy-three, 

« J. F. Oberlin. 

" My sincere respects to the Rev. Dr. Stein- 
kopfF." 

Henry also wrote to Mr. Heisch about the 
same time, and as his letter contains some par- 
ticulars of his truly interesting family, and of 
various circumstances to which I shall after- 
ward have to refer, I insert it : — 

" Waldbach, December llth, 1813. 

" Highly Honoured Sir, my valued friend, 
and former teacher, — My father received your 
friendly letter on the 10th of April, and he al- 
lows me the pleasure of replying to part of it. 

" The Steinthal has, during the last few 
years, witnessed many melancholy, but also 
many cheering events. Conflagrations, for- 
merly so rare, have destroyed many houses in 
most of the villages ; even the beautiful par- 
sonage of Rothau fell, a few years ago, a prey 
to the flames. We have also lost since that 
period several of the most worthy inhabitants 
of our valley, who, both in word and deed, were 
bright and shining examples to their contem- 
poraries ; such were, for instance, Catherine 
Gagniere and Catherine Banzet. We must 
likewise include among our apparent adversi- 
ties the circumstance of cotton-spinning having 
been on the decline for several years, and as a 
similar circumstance occurs with regard to 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. Ill 

weaving, many families have been thrown into 
great distress. But God, who has always had 
an open eye upon the Steinthal, and extended 
a helping hand toward it, has also manifested 
himself in the present juncture. Besides the 
excellent magistrates (maires) with whom the 
whole of my dear father's parish is blessed, 
God has given us, in the person of the Count 
Lezay Marnesia, a prefect who entertains an 
extraordinary affection for the people of the 
Steinthal. Through his means in particular, 
and the striking interposition of Providence, 
the long-pending law-suit about the forests, 
which had been so oppressive to the inhabit- 
ants, has been brought to an amicable conclu- 
sion this year. It also pleased God to send, a 
short time since, a gentleman into this country 
who formerly kept a riband manufactory in 
Alsace, and who takes a great interest in effec- 
tually assisting the inhabitants of the Steinthal. 
Our good and excellent Louisa Schepler is 
still alive, and always, in conjunction with my 
dear father, observing the same fidelity and 
self-devotion in the performance of her duties. 
We, his children, have been very much dis- 
persed, but we were much more so a little time 
ago than we are now. It is, indeed, remarka- 
ble how we are concentrated in the Steinthal. 
My brother Charles has been for some years 
past clergyman of Rothau* My sister Fred- 

* Charles Conserve, Oberlin's second son, was born in 
1776. In the year 1803 he married Sophia Catherine 
Franck, of Strasburg, the widow of an officer named Be- 



112 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

erica, who married the Rev. Mr. Rauscher, 
now resides at Barr, where Mr. Rauscher keeps 
a school, and also exercises his ministerial 
functions. I am myself, in fine, come to the 
Steinthal from Russia, or Livonia, though not 
by the shortest way. I wrote to you, respected 
friend, from Riga, under the date of August 2d, 
1811. I wrote also at a later period to Dr, 
SteinkoprT, but I never received an answer from 
your country. I ought to have mentioned above, 
that the gentleman who is introducing the rib- 
and manufactory into the Steinthal is a native 
of Basle ; perhaps he is not unknown to you. 
It is Mr. Legrand, who was formerly a member 
of the Directory in Switzerland. My dear sis- 
ter Louisa Charite is married to a good worthy 
man, the Rev. Peter Witz, of Colmar. She, as 
well as dear Frederica, has several children, 
and so also has sister Henrietta, in Russia. 
Our beloved sister Fidelite has been for several 
years lost to us in this world, which grieves me 
in particular, even now. The good Fidelite ! — 
what a faithful sister she was! — as faithful a 
sister as she was a mother and wife.* 

rard. On account of his father's advancing age, he was 
induced, in 1806, to relieve him of part of his pastoral 
duties, by accepting the living of Rothau, at which place 
he still resides. 

* Fidelite Caroline Oberlin was married, in 1795, to 
the Rev. James Wolff, of Mittelbergheim. She died May 
9th, 1809, leaving two little girls, who soon followed 
their mother to the grave. Her death was a great afflic- 
tion to her near connections, but especially to Henry, to 
whom she was remarkably endeared, and to her father. In 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. . 113 

" I shall now conclude, as it is possible that 
my dear father and Louisa may wish to add a 
word themselves. 

"I remain ever your grateful old pupil and 
friend, 

" Henry Gottfried Oberlin." 

Although, on Oberlin's first arrival in the Ban 
de la Roche, the population consisted of eighty 
or a hundred families only, it increased in the 
course of a few years to five or six hundred, 
constituting altogether three thousand souls. 

To provide employment for so great a num- 
ber of persons, even supposing that five hundred 
could be employed during four or five months 
of the year, in the cultivation of land, and that 
one-third were infants and infirm persons inca- 
pable of work, became a most important ob- 
ject; and gave rise to the introduction of va- 
rious branches of mechanical industry, adapted 

speaking of this circumstance, Mr. Heisch, the long and 
intimate friend of the family, says, " I particularly re- 
collect the warm attachment that subsisted between Ober- 
lin's daughter Fidelite, his son Henry, and himself. O, he 
did love his children most tenderly ! If I am not mista- 
ken, I saw him weep but once, and that was when he 
married his daughter Fidelite to Mr. Wolff. Tears of joy, 
in the prospect of her happiness, were then mingled with 
those tears of grief, which a separation from this beloved 
child could not but occasion. Some time after he repeat- 
edly visited her at Mittelbergheim, and I had once or 
twice the pleasure of accompanying him. It is scarcely 
possible for any one, who was not an eye-witness to this 
scene, to form an idea of the tender affection that sub- 
sisted between father and daughter." 

8 



114. MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

to local circumstances ; such, for instance, as 
straw-platting, knitting, and dying with the 
plants of the country. The former was intro- 
duced by an invalid captain, whose gratitude 
for the kind reception he had met with from 
Oberlin, induced him to second the views of 
his benefactor, by contributing an art with 
which necessity had made him acquainted. 

Besides these employments, Oberlin had suc- 
ceeded in making cotton-spinning a source of 
great emolument to the Steinthal; but the in- 
troduction of machinery into the surrounding 
villages deprived them of this source of profit 5 
and seemed likely to reduce them to their for- 
mer state of necessity and want. In this emer- 
gency they were succoured by the Messrs. Le- 
grand, who removed their manufactory of rib- 
ands from the Upper Rhine to the Steinthal. 

In the course of a short time, through the 
exertions of this benevolent and highly respect- 
able family, industry and happiness again smiled 
in the valley : for, while the introduction of the 
silk manufactory caused trade to be carried on 
with renewed vigour, and gave employment to 
several hundred hands, it was attended with 
another great advantage, too seldom experi- 
enced in manufacturing districts ; this was, that 
the riband looms were distributed about the 
houses in the different villages, so that, contrary 
to the usual custom, the children could remain 
while at work under the eye of their parents, 
instead of being exposed to the contaminating 
influence of bad example. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 115 

" Conducted by Providence," says Mr. Le- 
grand, in a letter addressed to the Baron de 
Gerando, " into this remote valley, I was the 
more struck with the sterility of its soil, its 
straw-thatched cottages, the apparent poverty 
of its inhabitants, and the simplicity of their 
fare, (consisting chiefly of potatoes,) from the 
contrast which these external appearances 
formed to the cultivated conversation which I 
enjoyed with almost every individual I met 
while traversing its five villages, and the frank- 
ness and naivete of the children, who extended 
to me their little hands. I had often heard of 
Pastor Oberlin, and eagerly sought his acquaint- 
ance. He gave me the most hospitable recep- 
tion, and anticipated my desire to know more of 
the history of the little colony whose manners 
had surprised me so greatly, by placing in my 
hands the annals of his parish. I there found 
an unconnected, but detailed history of the in- 
stitutions for general instruction founded by his 
predecessor, and continued by himself. 

" It is now four years since I removed here 
with my family ; and the pleasure of residing 
in the midst of a people whose manners are 
softened and whose minds are enlightened by 
the instructions which they receive from their 
earliest infancy, more than reconciles us to the 
privations which we must necessarily experi- 
ence in a valley separated from the rest of the 
world by a chain of surrounding mountains." 

The law-suit mentioned in the preceding 
letter from Henry Oberlin was one which had 



116 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

been carried on for eighty or ninety years, be- 
tween the peasantry of the Ban and the lords 
of the territory, to the great detriment of both 
parties, and grief of Oberlin ; who, however, 
took no steps toward the adjustment of the dif- 
ficulty until sanctioned by the magistracy. This 
sanction he received ; for the prefect of the 
Lower Rhine, anxious to see so ruinous an 
affair terminated, applied to him for aid, and the 
good pastor, happy to render it, by his private 
conversations and public discourses at length 
effected an agreement advantageous to both 
sides. What so many years had not been able 
to effect, Oberlin — the mild and gentle Oberlin 
— brought about by a few conciliatory words. 
The prefect was desirous that the inhabitants 
should not be allowed to forget to whom they 
were indebted for the restoration of peace. At 
his suggestion, the mayors in deputation pre- 
sented to their pastor lie pen with which M. 
de Lezay had signed the solemn engagement, 
entreating him to suspend it in his study as a 
trophy of the victory which his habitual benefi- 
cence of character had, under the divine bless- 
ing, enabled him to gain over long-continued 
animosity and bad feeling. He modestly com- 
plied with their request, and was often heard to 
say that the day on which that pen was used, 
June 6th, 1813, was one of the happiest of his 
life.* 

* For several years this memorable pen retained its 
station in his study ; but it at length disappeared, without 
any one being able to tell what had become of it. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 117 

I must now advert to an affecting event, 
which happened in Oberlin's family in the win- 
ter of 1817. This was the death of his son 
Henry Gottfried, who had only resided under 
the paternal roof for about three years after his 
return from Russia, before he was summoned 
hence to taste, as we have every reason to be- 
lieve, of the joys of heaven. 

" God's ways are not our ways, neither are 
his thoughts our thoughts :" and it sometimes 
pleases him to remove to a better country, and 
to a higher state of existence, those whom we 
had fondly imagined would become as shining 
lights in the world, and instruments devoted to 
his service ; as though to remind us that he 
can effect his own purposes in what way and 
in what manner he sees best, without the aid 
of short-sighted, and, at the best, fallible crea- 
tures like ourselves. 

The immediate occasion of Henry's death 
was supposed to arise from a cold, which he 
took in assisting to extinguish a fire that had 
broken out in the night in a town on his route, 
as he was making, in 1816, a circuit of eighteen 
hundred miles in the south of France, with a 
view to inspect the state of the Protestant 
churches, and to ascertain the means of sup- 
plying them more generally with the Holy 
Scriptures. 

The fatigue attending the remainder of the 
journey, added to the seeds of incipient disease, 
had so shattered his constitution, that, soon after 
arriving in his native valley, he was induced to 



118 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

remove to Rothan, instead of remaining at Wald- 
bach, in order to receive the benefit of his bro- 
ther Charles's advice, who, in addition to his 
clerical functions, was a medical practitioner. 
On perceiving, however, that the complaint ra- 
pidly gained ground, he desired, with the great- 
est resignation and composure, to be conveyed 
home again to his father's house that he might 
die there. 

So universally was Oberlin beloved, that his 
parishioners seized every opportunity of proving 
their attachment to him and to his family ; and 
on this occasion a truly affecting scene present- 
ed itself. No sooner was Henry's request made 
known in the village, than twelve peasants im- 
mediately presented themselves at the parson- 
age-house, and offered to carry him upon a litter 
to AValdbach, which is about six miles distant 
from Rothau. He could not, however, bear 
exposure to the open air, and it was therefore 
found expedient to place him in a covered cart; 
but, as it slowly proceeded through the valley, 
the faithful peasants walked before it, carefully 
removing every stone, that the beloved invalid 
might experience as little inconvenience as 
possible from jolting over the rough roads. 

A few weeks after his arrival under the pa- 
ternal roof, his life, which had promised such 
extensive usefulness, drew near its close. Faith, 
mingled with pious resignation to the will of 
his heavenly Father, who was thus early pleased 
to call him to himself, was strikingly exhibited 
in his last moments, and on the sixteenth of 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 119 



November, 1817, without a struggle or a sigh, 
he sweetly " slept in Jesus."* 

A few particulars of his close are given in the 
notes of the sermon which his father preached 
on the occasion of his death. I shall here 
insert a translation of them from the original 
manuscript. 

" My son Henry Gottfried, in the midst of 
distressing bodily anguish, (for as to his mental 
powers, he enjoyed the full and clear use of 
them till the last moment of his life,) and under 
the pressure of acute and lingering sufferings, 
often said, 'O mercy! mercy! O God! hast 
thou then ceased to be merciful? O, it is a 
hard, hard, hard thing to die ? 

" Half or a quarter of an hour before expiring 
his countenance exhibited less suffering, and 
he said, (although with considerable difficulty,) 
* Now a little repose — a little consolation — a 
little joy.' Then he often repeated, ' From death 
unto life' — ' From death unto life.' 

" At length he presented his trembling hand 
to place it in mine ; he pressed mine very sen- 
sibly ; and retained it in his own, c from death 
unto life,' for without our perceiving it he ceased 
to breathe. Twice, believing him gone, Louisa 

* His premature and lamented death is thus recorded in 
the Fourteenth Report of the British and Foreign Bible 
Society : — " Your committee think it due to the late Rev. 
Henry Oberlin, of Waldbach, in Alsace, to bear their 
testimony to that zeal by which he was urged to sacrifice 
his valuable life, in exertions for distributing the Holy 
Scriptures among his countrymen." 



120 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

Schepler closed his eyes, but they opened again 
and were raised on high." 

Henry Oberlin was buried in the church- 
yard of Foudai, where a monument of wood, 
surrounded by willows, is erected to his me- 
mory. 

His venerable father was graciously support- 
ed under this heavy stroke, and in his discourse 
over the grave of his son spoke tenderly and 
familiarly of the departed, as having only pre- 
ceded them a little way in their pilgrimage, 
soon to be overtaken, and for ever reunited to 
those whom he had left behind. The following 
letter to his friend, Mr. Heisch, exhibits the 
disinterested manner in which he contemplated 
his own irreparable loss, when dwelling upon 
his son's removal to eternal glory. 

" Waldbach, in the Stemthal, Jan. 8th, 1818. 

" Accept, my dear, not to be forgotten friend, 
my sincere and heartfelt thanks for the many 
proofs of your continued affectionate remem- 
brance. Your name is inscribed on my heart ; 
and yet I find it difficult to give you any assur- 
ance of it, being extremely engaged with labours 
that are continually increasing, while the use 
of my bodily powers is greatly diminished. 
I particularly suffer in my eyes, which some- 
times altogether refuse me their service, notwith- 
standing the excellent spectacles you presented 
to me, and one pair of which Louisa gratefully 
uses. 

" We all sincerely rejoiced at the departure 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 121 

of our Henry from this world ; for besides hav- 
ing been subjected during his whole life to a 
chain of complicated sufferings, he had suffered 
for some months past (ever since his missionary 
journey in France) with peculiar severity, so that 
his emaciated appearance awakened everyone's 
sympathy, and neither medicines nor any thing 
else could procure him any real alleviation or 
respite from pain. In consequence of the warm 
recommendations of our friends, we were induced 
to call in Dr. Stiickalberger, a very clever phy- 
sician of Basle, a few weeks before our Hen- 
ry's decease ; but no sooner had he seen him, 
and become acquainted with his symptoms, than 
he said, ' I shall not touch dear Mr. Oberlin 
with any medicine or remedy, nay, not even 
with medical advice, being perfectly convinced 
that if, on the one hand, I may hope to effect 
any good, or even may effect it, I shall, on the 
other hand, do more harm than it may again be 
in my power to remedy.' This was both kind 
and judicious ; and I had been endeavouring 
to persuade the other physicians to adopt the 
same plan, though in vain ; for, with the utmost 
kindness, they were resolved to do all in their 
power to assist him. God had, in this case, 
reserved to himself the exclusive prerogative 
of affording effectual help. Henry, in addition 
to that spirit of universal benevolence by which 
he was animated, felt a peculiar interest for 
two nations, Livonia, together with the whole 
of Russia, and France. No doubt our and his 
good Lord now assigns to him some more ex- 



122 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

tensive sphere of activity than he could have 
had here, not only, perhaps, for the benefit of 
these two nations, but even for that of other 
nations and other individuals. May we be his 
servants ; no matter whether here or there, if 
we can but be faithful in his service, and of 
some utility to others. 

" Henry received your letter of the 17th of 
October, as well as the elegant silver pencil- 
cases, and commissioned me to return you his 
sincerest thanks. He gave them as a remem- 
brance of you to his brother Charles Conserve, 
clergyman of Rothau, who has shown him ex- 
traordinary kindness both as a physician and a 
brother. 

" Louisa Schepler, and all our dear friends 
here, thank you cordially for your remembrance, 
and assure you of their uninterrupted affection 
and recollection. 

" God grant that you may become useful in 
his service. 

" Adieu, my long endeared friend ! 
"Your obliged and faithful, &c. 

" John Frederic Oberlin." 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 123 



CHAPTER VIII. 

Medal presented to Oberlin by the Royal Agricultural 
Society of Paris — Oberlin's private character — Mr. Owen's 
letter, containing an account of a Ban de la Roche sabbath 
— Oberlin's ministry — sermons — ministerial labours, &c. 
— His paternal influence over his flock — Questions ad- 
dressed to his parishioners — Circulars. 

Notwithstanding Oberlin's advancing age, 
and the loss he had experienced in the death 
of his son, the Ban de la Roche still witnessed 
a succession of useful improvements, and a 
progress in civilization and prosperity. So 
much delighted were his friends at Strasburg 
and at Paris with witnessing the success of his 
indefatigable exertions, that, in the year 1818, 
they agreed to collect, without his knowledge, 
documents of the good which he had achieved, 
and to submit them to the Royal and Central 
Agricultural Society of Paris. 

M. le Comte Francois de Neuf chateau, who 
had repeatedly visited the Steinthal, was de- 
puted to this office, and requested to propose 
the vote of a gold medal to the pastor of Wald- 
bach, in acknowledgment of the services which 
he had rendered, during more than half a cen- 
tury, to agriculture in particular, and to man- 
kind in general. 

" If you would behold an instance of what 
may be effected in any country for the advance- 
ment of agriculture and the interests of hu- 



124 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

manity," said he, when addressing the society 
upon this occasion, "quit for a moment the 
banks of the Seine, and ascend one of the steep- 
est summits of the Vosges Mountains. Friends 
of the plough, and of human happiness, come 
and behold the Ban de la Roche ! Climb with 
me the rocks, so sublimely piled upon each 
other, which separate this canton from the rest 
of the world, and though the country and the 
climate may at first sight appear forbidding, I 
will venture to promise you an ample recom- 
pense for the fatigue of your excursion. 

" As for myself, after having formed the ad- 
ministration of the department of the Vosges, in 
1790, and presided over it, in 1791, I had, in 
1793, to travel over those mountains as a com- 
missioner of the government, at the very period 
when the parishes of Rothau and Waldbach, 
before that time dependant on the principality 
of Salm, were united to the department. I 
have, therefore, been long acquainted with the 
valuable services rendered, for more than fifty 
years, to the Ban de la Roche, by John Frede- 
ric Oberlin. Ever since that time, and to the 
advanced age of seventy-eight, he has perse- 
vered in carrying forward the interesting re- 
formation first suggested and commenced by 
his virtue, piety, and zeal. He has refused 
invitations to more important and more lucra- 
tive situations, lest the Ban de la Roche should 
relapse into its former desolate state ; and, by 
his extraordinary efforts and unabated exer- 
tions, he averted from his parishioners, in the 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 125 

years 1812, 1816, and 1817, the horrors of 
approaching famine.* 

" Such a benefactor of mankind deserves the 
veneration and the gratitude of all good men ; 
and it gives me peculiar pleasure to present you 
with the opportunity of acknowledging, in the 
person of M. Oberlin, not a single act, but a 
whole life, devoted to agricultural improve- 
ments, and to the diffusion of useful knowledge 
among the inhabitants of a wild and unculti- 
vated district. 



" We have already ascertained that there is 
in France uncultivated land sufficient for the 
formation of five thousand villages. When we 
wish to organize these colonies, Waldbach will 
present a perfect model ; and, in the thirty or 
forty rural hamlets which already exist, there 
is not one, even among the most flourishing, in 
which social economy is carried to a higher 
degree of perfection, or in which the annals of 
the Ban de la Roche may not be studied with 
advantage." 

* The new crop of potatoes that Oberlin had introduced 
formed the principal subsistence of the people during 
those disastrous years, when the season was so cold and 
rainy that they could not get in two-thirds of the corn at 
all ; and the scarcity was so great, that poor little chil- 
dren, exhausted with hunger, were seen to drop down in 
the streets. A sack of wheat during that time of distress 
rose to one hundred and forty-five francs, and the potatoes 
to nearly one sou apiece. 

The precise acquaintance which the inhabitants of the 



126 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

On the conclusion of this report, the pro- 
posed tribute of affectionate gratitude was, by- 
unanimous consent, awarded to M. Oberlin ; 
upon which the Baron de Gerando, counsellor 
of state, to whose care it was consigned, ex- 
pressed the gratification he should have in 
presenting it to the venerable pastor, not only 
because he regarded it as an act of justice due 
to his extraordinary services, but also because 
it would afford such great pleasure to the inha- 
bitants of the Vosges valleys, to find their be- 
loved benefactor, guide, counsellor, and friend, 
regarded as an individual deserving of this token 
of public admiration and gratitude. 

But while Oberlin was thus gaining the meed 
of universal esteem by his acts of public bene- 
ficence, his domestic virtues were endearing 
him more and more to his family circle, where 
they always displayed themselves in the most 
truly amiable light. I shall, therefore, now re- 
verse the picture, and present my readers with 
a view of Oberlin in his personal and more 
private, as well as in his ministerial character. 
In this he will be found to shine as brightly as 
in his public capacity ; thereby manifesting the 
pureness and the extent of that Christian prin- 
ciple, which constrained not only the great 
movements of his life, but his minutest actions. 

Oberlin, in his person, was handsome, rather 

Ban de la Roche had acquired, through Oberlin's assist- 
ance, with the vegetable productions of their canton, was 
believed to be the means of preventing the most distress- 
ing diseases. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN, 127 

under the usual height, but remarkably dignified 
in his appearance. There was, however, no- 
thing affected in his manner of carrying himself. 
His outward garb was evidently the mark of 
the master mind within him. Dressed, as he 
usually was when out of doors, in a cocked hat, 
and with a red riband at his chest, the decora- 
tion of the legion of honour,* his air was so 
imposing as to call forth the attention and re- 
spect of every one who saw him. His manner 
was grave, but affectionate ; condescending, but 
in the highest degree gentlemanly. His cour- 
tesy toward his parishioners was constantly 
testified. He did not pass those among them 
who were grown up, without pulling off his hat 
and speaking a few words of kindness : nor any 
of the children without shaking them by the 
hand, or showing them some little act of atten- 
tion. " Jesus," he often said, " loved children. 
It is to such as resemble them that he promises 
the kingdom of heaven." He was always ex- 
tremely anxious, in every part of his conduct, 
to prevent the possibility of misconstruction on 
the part of those over whom he watched. " On 
one occasion," says one of my friends who vi- 
sited the Ban de la Roche a few years ago, " as 
we were walking up a hill, he had the arm of 

* This decoration was awarded to Oberlin by Louis 
XVIII. in acknowledgment of the services he had ren- 
dered to an extensive population. " The king," he used 
to say, " has had the goodness to send me this decoration; 
but what have I done to merit it 1 Who, in my situation, 
would not have acted as I have done, and perhaps better 

6tilU" 



128 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

his son-in-law, while my wife was walking 
alone. Fearing this might be considered self- 
indulgent or disrespectful by some of his younger 
parishioners, whom we happened to pass, he 
stopped to make an apology to them for this 
apparent disregard of the law of civility and 
kindness/''* 

His manner of accosting his inferiors was 
perfectly unique. ' ; When our postilion, who 
appeared to have some previous acquaintance 
with the Ban de la Roche, met him,'' continues 
the same friend, ' ; he and the old man were 
instantly with their hats lowered to the ground, 
while Oberlin stepped forward to shake him by 
the hand, and to make some inquiry about his 
friends at Strasburg. This was done with all 
the sweetness of Christian feeling, while there 
was no departure from the dignity with which 
his situation and circumstances naturally in- 
vested him. Good manners prevailed in these 
valleys to an extent that is rarely witnessed. 
The practice of the pastor produced the hap- 
piest effects upon the mass of the population. 
The habitual politeness of the French character 
might have assisted in this work, but I have 
never witnessed in any other poor people such 
remarkable and universal suavity — such com- 
plete refinement as in these hardy mount- 
aineers. 

" As the ' dear father' had the highest regard 
for his people, so he had the best opinion of 

* It must be remembered that Oberlin was then in his 
eightieth year, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERL1X. 129 

their skill, and wondered that any one should 
doubt about it. I happened one day, when we 
were driven by a man who seemed to go on in 
a hazardous manner, to say, * Take care.' The 
old man appeared hurt at this admonition, both 
on my account and on that of the driver. He 
assured me that all was safe ; and at the end 
of our drive took the greatest pains to prevent 
any feeling of vexation which might arise in 
the mind of his parishioner." 

Oberlnfs habits were very orderly. Every 
thing seemed to have its place in his house. 
There was a box to deposite every morsel of 
litter, and which could only be of service in the 
stove. His books, a great number of which 
were in manuscript, were perfectly arranged, 
and written in a beautiful hand, for it was a 
point of duty with him, as before stated by 
Mr. Legrand, to give every letter its perfect 
formation. His Bible was marked throughout 
with different coloured ink, according to the 
application which he, in the course of his read- 
ing, had made of different passages. 

In conversation he was fluent and very un- 
reserved ; willing to communicate all he knew, 
and, on the other hand, inquisitive as to every 
thing which he saw, and from which it appeared 
likely he could derive information. 

His activity was as astonishing as his zeal ; 
he never rode on horseback if he could help it, 
still less in the inside of a carriage ; and was 
accustomed, till prevented by increasing in- 
firmity, to climb the steepest summits of the 

9 



130 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

Vosges, or penetrate through pathless snows, 
regardless of cold or danger, in order to visit 
the sick, and administer religious consolation 
to the dying ; often too, after all the varied and 
arduous duties of the day, would he travel to 
Strasburg in the night to procure medicines, or 
to obtain assistance or information from his 
friends in that city, that not a day might be lost 
to the interests of his beloved SteinthaL* 

The superiority of his intellectual powers 
appeared in all he said and in all he did ; and 
he possessed great influence over others, every 
body loving and obeying him absolutely, though 
without servility. His mind was of a most 
kind, yet of a very energetic and decided order ; 
though as he seldom, if ever, went from home, 
he had seen little of the world, and, except in 
his younger years, read little but his Bible. 
His conversation was never more eloquent, nor 
his views more expanded, than when he talked 
on the subject of the extension of the kingdom 
of God, and when he narrated to his boys, as 
he would frequently do, particulars of the life 
and adventures of Dr. Vanderkemp, the mis- 

* Oberlin was, at one time, not only minister, school- 
master, farmer, and mechanic, but also general physician 
to his parish ; the knowledge of medicine which he had 
acquired during his residence in Mr. Ziegenhagen's family 
having qualified him for the post. He also learned to 
open veins, and established a dispensary ; and when his 
ministerial functions would no longer allow of his devoting 
so much time to the purpose as it required, he delegated 
the office to his son Charles, and to a young man of talent 
whom he had sent to study at Strasburg. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 131 

sionary, Vincent de Paul, and others, by which 
means he riveted their attention, and excited 
the warmest feelings of their hearts. His views 
of religion were of a very simple and elevated 
cast: "no cloud of doubt crossed the serene 
atmosphere of his tranquil joys :" — he conti- 
nually looked at God as his " heavenly Father," 
present with him, and rested all his hopes in 
Jesus, " the Author and Finisher of our faith." 

As the villages in Oberlin's parish were too 
far apart to admit his preaching in them all 
every week, he took each of the three churches 
in rotation. The peasants made an arrange- 
ment to come in turns with a horse to fetch 
him every Sunday morning, and to take him 
home to partake of their dinner after the ser- 
mon. It was always a festival for every family 
who could thus entertain the " dear father," and 
afforded him an opportunity of conversing about 
their temporal and spiritual wants. He made 
a point, when the little repast was ended, of 
seeing the children of the house one by one in 
succession, according to their age, and of talk- 
ing to them like an affectionate father, in lan- 
guage adapted to their respective capacities, as 
well as of making a present to each. 

I cannot here refrain from inserting the lively 
picture which Mr. Owen has drawn, in his own 
admirable manner, of a Ban de la Roche sab- 
bath ; and in which he also makes an allusion 
to those three excellent women whose names 
well deserve to be put upon record with that of 
their pastor. 



132 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

11 Basle, September 16, 1818. 

" The place from which my last was dated, 
Waldbach, has completely filled my mind, and 
laid such hold on my warmest affections, that 
I can scarcely bring myself to think, or speak, 
or write, on any thing but Pastor Oberlin, and 
his Ban de la Roche. You will remember that 
the first foreign letter which awakened an in- 
terest in our minds,— the letter which made its 
way most directly to our hearts, and which, at 
the celebration of our first anniversary, pro- 
duced the strongest, and, if I may judge of 
others by myself, the most lasting impression 
upon us all, — was that wherein this venerable 
pastor reported the distribution he proposed to 
make of the Bibles assigned to him, and drew, 
with the hand of a master, the characters of 
those women who laboured with him in the 
gospel, and to whom, as the highest remune- 
ration he could bestow, and their ambition 
coveted, a Bible was to be presented.* 

" I cannot describe the sensations with which 
I entered the mountainous parish, containing 
five villages and three churches, in which this 
primitive evangelist, who for more than half a 
century has occupied this station, exercises his 
functions ; and still less those with which I 
entered his residence, and approached his 
venerable person. The reception he gave me 
was such as from the profound humility of his 
character might have been anticipated. My 

* See page 96. 



MEMOIRS OP OBERLIN. 133. 

visit to him and his flock was wholly unex- 
pected ; and when I announced to him, in my 
introduction, that I appeared before him as the 
secretary of the British and Foreign Bible So- 
ciety, to testify, on their part, the respect and 
affection with which they regarded him, as one 
of the earliest and most interesting of their 
foreign correspondents, the good man took me 
by the hand, and drew me gently toward the 
seat which he usually occupies, exclaiming, 
but without any turbulence of either voice or 
manner, ' Sir, this is too great an honour : — 
how shall I answer words like these V After 
the first emotions had subsided, our conversa- 
tion became familiar; and as it never ceased, 
from that time to the moment of our separation, 
to turn more or less upon the things pertaining 
to the kingdom of God, as they appeared in 
the small scale of his own or the great scale 
of the Bible Society's labours, it never ceased 
to be deeply interesting, and pregnant with 
edification. 

" The Sunday exhibited this venerable man 
in the pastoral character, under which it had 
been so much my desire, might it but be per- 
mitted me, to see him. As he makes the cir- 
cuit of his churches, the turn on this Sunday 
belonged to Belmont, distant about half a league 
from the parsonage of Waldbach. At ten o'clock 
we began to move. Mr. Oberlin took the lead 
in his ministerial attire, a large beaver and 
flowing wig, mounted on a horse brought for 
that purpose, according to custom, by one of 



134 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. . 

the inhabitants of the village, whose turn it 
was to have the honour of fetching his pastor, 
and receiving him to dinner at his table. I rode 
as nearly beside him as- the narrow track would 
allow. Mr. Ronneberg, accompanied by Mr. 
Daniel Legrand, followed. The rear was brought 
up by the villager before mentioned, carrying a 
leathern bag, slung across his shoulders, which 
contained the other part of the minister's dress, 
his books, &c. ; and a respectable peasant as 
an attendant on the general cavalcade. I will 
not detain you by particulars, which, however 
interesting, would draw me too far from the 
main object of my attention. I will only say, 
that the appearance of the congregation, their 
neat and becoming costume, their order, and 
their seriousness, together with the fervour, 
tenderness, and simplicity, with which the good 
minister addressed them, both in his sermon in 
the morning and his catechetical lecture in the 
afternoon, conveyed to my mind the most de- 
lightful impression — that of a sincere and ele- 
vated devotion. The interval between the 
services was passed, partly in dining at the 
house of the happy villager, (for the duty of 
fetching and entertaining their pastor is, in the 
estimation of these simple people, a privilege of 
the highest order,) and partly in visiting some 
of the excellent individuals, both men and 
women, but particularly the latter, in which 
this part of the parish abounds. The affability 
and graceful condescension with which the 
pastor saluted every member of his flock, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 135 

wherever lie met them, and the affectionate 
reverence with which young and old returned 
the salutation, were peculiarly pleasing : it was, 
on both sides, if a ceremony at all, the cere- 
mony of the heart. On our return to the par- 
sonage, the evening was passed in edifying 
conversation, and concluded by a French hymn, 
in which all the household united. On the 
ensuing morning I had the honour of convey- 
ing my venerable host, amid the bowings of 
his parishioners, who gazed with wonder at 
the unusual sight of their stationary pastor 
seated in a travelling carriage, to the house of 
Messrs. Legrand, at Foudai, another of the 
villages in this extensive parish. Here we 
breakfasted ; and, after much pleasing conver- 
sation with this amiable, benevolent, and well- 
informed family, I had the high honour of being 
introduced to Sophia Bernard and Catherine 
Scheidecker ! Maria Schepler, the second on 
the list of this memorable trio, had, I found, 
been removed to her rest : the two whom I 
have mentioned, and who now stood before 
me, remained to fill up the measure of their 
usefulness in the work of their Lord. Never 
shall I forget the manner in which these inte- 
resting peasants received me, when, addressing 
them by name, I told them that I had known 
them nearly fourteen years, and that the ac- 
count of their services, communicated to us by 
the pastor whom they so greatly assisted, had 
been instrumental in stirring up the zeal of 
many to labour after their example. ' O, sir,' 



136 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN". 

said Sophia Bernard, the tears filling her eyes 
at the time, ' this does indeed humble us ; f 
adding many pious remarks in relation to- their 
obscurity, the imperfection of their works, and 
the honour they considered it to labour for Him 
who had done so much, yea, every thing, for 
them. The scene was truly affecting. It was 
not without many an effort that I tore myself 
from it, and hurried from the Ban de la Roche, 
that seat of simplicity, piety, and true Christian 
refinement, to resume my journey along the 
beaten road, and to pursue my object among 
scenes which, whatever pleasures I had to ex- 
pect, would suffer in the comparison with those 
which I had left behind me." 

In most of his religious tenets, Oberlin was 
strictly orthodox and evangelical. The main 
doctrine that seemed to occupy his whole mind 
was, that God was his Father. " Our Father," 
as he would not unfrequently say, " and thus 
we may always feel him." The doctrine of 
sanctification also held a high place in his 
creed, though, in his discourses, he principally 
dwelt upon the freeness of the gospel, the 
willingness of Christ to receive all who come 
to him in sincerity of heart, the blessed efficacy 
of prayer, and the absolute necessity of divine 
grace. 

Oberlin was accustomed to preach very alarm- 
ingly on the judgment to come, and the punish- 
ment of the wicked ; though, at the same time, 
lie held out the fatherly love of God to every 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 137 

returning sinner who would seek him through 
Jesus Christ. These last-mentioned doctrines 
may be said to have constituted the leading 
features of his ministry. He had a remarkable 
reverence for the Bible, and especially for the 
books of Moses, and the gospels. He was led 
to adopt many of the laws of Moses, because, 
he said, although the ceremonial law is rejected, 
the object of that law, the glory of God and the 
good of man, remains, and therefore the law 
itself ought to be retained. The subjoined 
note marks a number of passages from the 
laws of Moses which Oberlin adopted, and 
which he applied with great force and interest 
in his own conduct, and in his instructions to 
his people.* 

* Alms. Deut. xiv, 28, &c. ; xv, 7. Matt, iii, -10. 

Prevention of dangers. Deut. xxii, 8. Exod. xxi, 33. 

Strangers. Exod. xxii, 21 ; xxiii, 9. Lev. xix, 33, 34 ; 
xxiv, 22. Num. xv, 14. Deut. x, 18, 19; xxiv, 14, 19; 
xxvi, 12 ; xxvii, 19. 

Also for strangers. Exod. xii, 19. Num. ix, 14. 

Solomon appointed a court for strangers : 2 Chron. vi, 
32. This court the avarice of the Jews suffered to be- 
come a market, and from this market Jesus drove the 
buyers and sellers. 

Fertility. To make a country fertile, it must be guarded 
from bad seasons, dearth, and famine. Lev. xxvi, 3, 14. 
Deut. xi, 13, 16. Mai. iii, 10. 

Politeness. Rom. xii, 10. 1- Cor. xiii, 4, 5. 

To protect ourselves from the evil of war. Lev. xxv, 
18, 19. Deut. xxxiii, 28, 29. Prov. i, 33. 

Doctors. Exod. xv, 26. 2 Chron. xvi, 12. 

Law-suit. Matt, v, 39, 40. 

First-fruits. Exod. xxii, 29. Deut. xv, 19. 



13S vevo:?.s or cii-lix. 

It may, indeed, be c h e h p i I here 

was not much in the history of Moses, as 

as in his law, which remarkably adapted itself 

U merlin's experience and views. 

Tins i::::::.:::::^::::::;r::. :vm: me 

:" die ? ev Francis Cdmninmaui. m isnei 

the Ban de la Roche in 1820, whan Oberlin 

was in the eightieth year of his age. He thus 

•• Id mm me dm ; : 

siames ::" :d:s mnerame ::::. I could no: but 
call to mind that of the patriarch whose law, as 
well as example, he seems so attentively to have 
followed. Oderlin. like Moses, was -.rained to 
another seirice than that which he was nlti- 
rua:ely rallerl :•: follow. He ua:l :o civilize, as 
weD is c ins:::::, a people degraded long 

VcV-c -n;-,'v r,-,,r^ 7.. _*...-.. .C r n^ir {Wh 



W3.S £ ; 



osiiv. end due trues: decision :: dnaracie:. As 
o: Moses a: die eni :d nis pimrmnarm so i: mav 
be sail -f Gderdm. nis eye was scarcely dmi. 
ml nis nmml f:::e was irarady abate a. Hiey 
eacn uvea :o :esu:y :c ?_ mime : :..ova:n" :ne 
ways t f -: d Deunxxxcic. 2ed "Happy ar: thou. 

Payment. Lev. xix, 13. Dent, nir, 14. Jer. xxii, 
13 R-ran- xiii, 8. Mat: t, 25. 
Health. ExocL xv, 26. Mai. iv, 2. 
Prolonged life. Dent, iv, 40 ; v, 32. 33 ; yi, 2 ; xi, 

9; sv„. 20 ; xix. 17. 1?. Cv . — -.:. 4:7 47, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 139 

Israel ; who is like unto thee, O people saved 
by the Lord ;' and now, as they fought the same 
fight, passed through the same tribulation, and 
washed their robes and made them white in the 
blood of the Lamb, they dwell together before 
the throne of God, and serve him day and night 
in his temple ; they have entered into the same 
joy, and are crowned with the same reward. 
For there this most holy, most devoted, and 
most useful man has now opened his eyes to 
receive the recompense of his faith, his pa- 
tience, and his labours : and there, as one who 
hath turned many to righteousness, he will 
shine in the crown of his Redeemer for ever 
and ever." 

In his sermons Oberlin was simple, energe- 
tic, and affectionate, continually speaking to 
his people under the appellation of " mes chers 
amis." He appeared to study a colloquial plain- 
ness, interspersing his discourses with images 
and allusions which, had they been addressed 
to a more refined audience, might have been 
deemed homely, but which were particularly 
adapted to the capacities and wants of his se- 
cluded villagers. He would frequently intro- 
duce biographical anecdotes of persons distin- 
guished for their piety : and the boundless field 
of nature furnished him with striking illustra- 
tions to explain spiritual things. But the Bible 
itself, " la chere Bible" as he exclaimed with 
tears of gratitude a short time before his last 
illness, was the grand source of all his instruc- 
tions. It formed the study of his life, and, as 



140 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

he said, constituted his own consolation under 
all trials, the source of his strength, and the 
ruling principle of his actions : how, then, could 
he do less than recommend it to others ? He 
was in the habit of citing very largely from it, 
from the conviction that the simple exposition 
of the word of God was the best means of effi- 
caciously interesting his flock. His sermons 
were almost always composed with the greatest 
care ; and when unable, for want of time, to 
write them out at length, he made at least a 
tolerably full outline. In general, he committed 
them scrupulously to memory, but in the pulpit 
he did not confine himself to the precise words, 
and would indeed sometimes change the sub- 
ject altogether, if he saw that another was 
apparently better suited to the circumstances 
of his auditory. 

Oberlin always concluded the sabbath after- 
noon's service with catechetical exercise ; and 
as this was intended more particularly for the 
benefit of the children, he endeavoured to ren- 
der his afternoon's discourse even more simple 
than that of the morning had been, and to adapt 
his language to the age of his younger hearers. 

" My friends," said he, upon one of these 
occasions, wishing to give them, if possible, 
some idea of eternity, " if a single grain of sand 
were brought into this room once every hundred 
years, many centuries must elapse before the 
floor could be covered. That moment would, 
however, arrive ; but, even when it came, the 
spirits of the blessed would be still in the 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 141 

enjoyment of heavenly happiness, for they are 
immortal ; and if a grain of sand were to be 
brought at the same stated interval for many 
thousands of centuries, until the room were 
entirely filled, those happy beings would still 
be immortal, and eternity would be as bound- 
less as when the first grain was brought." 

" The good pastor," says Mrs. Steinkopff, 
from whose journal the editor has been kindly 
allowed to make the following extracts, " con- 
siders his flock as his own children, and they 
look up to him with the most profound respect 
and veneration. I never witnessed so delight- 
fully affecting a scene as the church of W aid- 
bach, quite full, apparently, of attentive peo- 
ple. It stands very near the parsonage, and is 
plain, neat, and clean, with a gallery all round. 
When we were there, on the eleventh of June, 
1820, it was completely filled with peasants 
in the costume of the country, and there was 
not a countenance among them that indicated 
indifference ; the greater part evinced the ut- 
most seriousness and attention. When the 
revered pastor entered, all stood up ; he placed 
himself before the communion table ; it was 
plain, covered with a white cloth, fringed all 
round. He first gave out a hymn. When it 
was sung, he read a prayer from the ritual, 
during which all knelt, and covered their faces. 
He then gave out another hymn ; after which 
he went to one part of the church where the 
children sat, and called over their names, to 
see if any were absent. Then all knelt down 



142 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

again while he prayed ; then they sung, and he 
went into the pulpit and gave out his text, after 
another prayer : 'He shall see of the travail of 
his soul and shall be satisfied,' Isa. liii, 11. He 
spoke in the plainest and most familiar manner ; 
mentioned the errors of the times, against which 
he warned his hearers, particularly dwelling on 
the importance of sanctification. ' Those who 
give themselves up to intemperance,' said he, 
6 and to the enjoyment of luxuries, without con- 
cerning themselves about their poorer brethren, 
and yet think that with all this they shall go 
to heaven, because Christ died for sinners, are 
mistaken. No: the gospel says quite other- 
wise. We must deny ourselves, lay aside our 
sins, lead a holy and godly life, and then our 
blessed Redeemer will save us.' He earnestly 
warned them against sin. Not a sound was to 
be heard. Every countenance expressed at- 
tention. When he had finished, he read some 
verses of a hymn expressive of entire devoted- 
ness to God. ' My dear friends,' said he, ' may 
these be the feelings of our hearts, and as 
such let us sing them.' They then sung them 
heartily." 
The following is a translation : — 

" O Lord, thy heavenly grace impart, 
And fix my frail inconstant heart ; 
Henceforth my chief desire shall be, 
To dedicate myself to thee — 
To thee, my God, to thee ! 

" Whate'er pursuits my time employ, 
One thought shall fill my soul with joy ; 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 143 

That silent, secret thought shall be, 
That all my hopes are nx'd on thee — 
On thee, my God, on thee ! 

" Thy glorious eye pervadeth space, 
Thou'rt present, Lord, in every place, 
And, wheresoe'er my lot may be, 
Still shall my spirit cleave to thee — 
To thee, my God, to thee ! 

" Renouncing every worldly thing, 
Safe, 'neath the covert of thy wing, 
My sweetest thought henceforth shall be, 
That all I want I find in thee — 
In thee, my God, in thee !" 

" Two children were then brought to be bap- 
tized ; after which he pronounced the blessing. 
While the people were going out of church 
another verse was sung. Those nearest the 
door went out first, all in order and in silence. 
There are two doors in the church ; the pulpit 
is placed in the middle, next the back, so that 
the congregation is in front, down each side: 
Before it stands the communion table. All are 
seated on benches. There are, against the 
gallery, half a dozen pictures ; one is of our 
Saviour on the cross." 

Dr. SteinkopfT writes the following letter, 
descriptive of the same interesting scene. 

" Waldbach, in the Steinthal, June 12, 1820. 

" I cannot describe the veneration I felt on 

approaching Mr. Oberlin, that servant of God, 

and benefactor of man, who, in his eightieth 

year, is still full of health, vigour, and activity, 



144 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

and gladly spends his remaining strength in 
doing good. Serenity and cheerfulness are 
depicted on his countenance ; and he delights 
in communicating to his Christian friends some- 
thing of that peace of God which possesses his 
own soul. 

" Yesterday I attended divine service in his 
church. Notwithstanding a pouring rain, it 
was completely filled. Mr. Oberlin's assistant 
in the ministerial office (the Rev. Mr. Graff) 
assured me that every house in the five villages 
under his pastoral care was now provided with 
a Bible, and that every child who came to 
receive catechetical instruction brought a New 
Testament with him. But, for the sake of those 
who applied from a distance, I gladly complied 
with his wish to furnish him, and his son at 
Rothau, with one hundred and twenty German 
Bibles and Testaments. After divine service 
three Catholic peasants applied for De Sacy's 
Testament. One paid three francs for a copy. 
He gave Mr. Oberlin the pleasing information 
that many of his Catholic neighbours had al- 
ready procured the New Testament, and were 
in the constant habit of reading it. Mr. Ober- 
lin's son, who lives on the most friendly terms 
with the Catholic priest, lately presented his 
schoolmaster with a copy. 

" I accompanied the venerable patriarch in 
some of his pastoral visits. Wherever he went, 
respect and affection met him. The children 
hailed his appearance. They immediately pro- 
duced their Bibles or Testaments, read to him, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 145 

or listened to his truly paternal exhortations 
and admonitions."* 

Every Friday Oberlin conducted a service in 
German, for the benefit of those inhabitants of 
the vicinity to whom that language was more 
familiar than French. His congregation on a 
Sunday consisted, on an average, of six hun- 
dred persons, but on a Friday of two hundred; 
and Oberlin, laying aside all form, seemed on 
such occasions more like a grandfather sur- 
rounded by his children and grandchildren, to 
whom he was giving suitable admonition and 
instruction, than the minister of an extensive 
parish. In order that no time might be lost, he 
used to make his female hearers knit stockings 
during the service, not indeed for themselves or 
their families, but for their poorer neighbours, 
as he believed that this charitable employment 
need not distract their attention, nor interrupt 
that devotional spirit which generally pervaded 
the Friday evening assemblies. When he had 
pursued for half an hour the train of his reflec- 
tions upon the portion of Scripture which he 
had just been reading, he would often say to 
them, " Well, my children, are you not tired ? 
Have you not had enough? Tell me, my 
friends." To which inquiry his parishioners 
would generally reply, " No, papa, go on ; we 
should like to hear a little more :" though on 
some occasions, with characteristic frankness, 

* See Appendix to the Seventeenth Report of the 
British and Foreign Bible Society. 

10 



146 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

the answer was, " Enough, we think, for one 
time ;" and the good old man would leave off, 
in the midst of his discourse, or wait a little, 
and presently resume it, putting the same ques- 
tion again at intervals, until he saw that the 
attention of his congregation began to flag, or 
until they, perceiving that he spoke with less 
ease, would thank him for the things he had 
said, and beg him to conclude. 

Such was the general esteem in which he 
was held, that Catholics as well as Protestants 
were fond of attending his preaching. The 
following conversation took place between an 
English gentleman and the driver of the car in 
which it was found necessary to proceed from 
Schirmeck to Waldbach : no apology can be 
deemed necessary for introducing it, in illus- 
tration of the respect in which Oberlin was 
universally regarded by the peasantry. 

" You are going then to see our good Pastor 
Oberlin, gentlemen ?" said the latter. 

" Yes, we are going to see him. Do you 
know him ?" 

" Do I know him !" continued the man ; 
" yes, I know him well. I have heard him 
preach many a time." 

" But you are a Catholic, are you not ?" 
" Yes, we are Catholics, we people of Schir- 
meck ; but that does not prevent our sometimes 
hearing the good pastor of Waldbach." 
" Do you find he preaches well ?" 
" Yes, very well. He often makes us weep." 
The honest charioteer spoke a very intelli- 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 147 

gible French, quite distinct from the dialect of 
Schirmeck ; and this circumstance, together 
with a certain touch of military indifference in 
his manner, not entirely concealed by his fus- 
tian jacket, prompted the inquiry whether he 
had served under Napoleon. 

" Yes, sir, you are right ; I have been a 
soldier; and I find that a soldier very easily 
catches bad habits." 

"From all that I have hitherto seen, I find 
they are easily caught everywhere." 

" Very possibly. For myself, I frankly own 
that I was no better than others ; and when I 
go to hear Pastor Oberlin preach, he makes me 
feel that I am not too good even now. He is 
right, the pastor is right ; for it is true, very 
true." 

" Yes ; but do you not think it is a truth 
which it is necessary for us to know ? and do 
you not believe that he who makes us feel our 
errors is one of our best friends ?" 

" Yes. To be cured, the malady must be 
known." 

" Certainly. You are, then, very happy in 
having a minister who makes vou feel the truth." 

"You are right ; and I assure you that he is 
a man who seeks to render himself useful to us 
in every way." 

" Tell me, what has he done, then V 9 

" What has he done ! He has done all that 
can be done. Let us see : there are so many 
things. In the first place, this road ; — it is he 
who has made it for us." 



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MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 149 

you a Christian ?" said he to a Catholic gentle- 
man who visited the Ban de la Roche in the 
autumn of 1820; — " if you are a Christian, my 
dear friend, we are of the same religion. If you 
believe in the utter depravity of human nature, 
in the necessity of repentance, and while 
adoring God, pray to him to crown your efforts 
to become better, we are of the same reli- 
gion. Follow the law traced by the dear 
Saviour ; it only is the true law. All the forms 
and ceremonies that different sects h&ve added 
to this law are of little importance." 

Perceiving that the eyes of his visiter were 
directed to a portrait of Luther that hung 
against the wall of his study, " That man has 
been," said he, " like every founder of a sect, 
much applauded and much calumniated. And 
if you will promise me not to be offended," 
continued he, smiling, " I will tell you some- 
thing about him. The popes, for a long time, 
arrogated to themselves temporal powers and 
privileges, in a very different spirit from that 
spirit of humility by which the first follow- 
ers of Jesus Christ were distinguished. Taking 
advantage of the credulity of the people, they 
extended their dominion over nearly the whole 
of Europe, Turkey alone being free from their 
sway. Leo X. wished to unite the Christian 
princes against this latter kingdom, but it was 
necessary to obtain money in order to secure 
their co-operation. Leo, who was remarkable 
for the patronage he afforded to the fine arts, 
was also in want of funds to finish the famous 



150 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

cathedral of St. Peter. He devised the plan 
of selling indulgences. These were notes pay- 
able at sight, for the enfranchisement of souls 
in purgatory; a place never mentioned by 
Jesus Christ and his apostles. Depots of them 
were opened in the priests' houses, the monas- 
teries, and even in the public houses. The 
priests were employed in persuading the peo- 
ple to purchase them. An Augustine monk, 
the son of a blacksmith, of Eisleben, was led 
to consider what power these indulgences 
could possibly possess, and ascen'ding the pul- 
pit, after a priest, who had been inculcating 
these doctrines, he excited in the minds of his 
hearers the indignation with which his own 
was filled. This Augustine monk, whose name 
was Martin Luther, proceeded to apply to seve- 
ral princes, some of whom espoused his cause. 
He spread the doctrines of the Reformation ; 
abolished those of the monks ; and taking Scrip- 
ture for his guide, returned to the simple com- 
munion of bread and wine ; he denied the 
power of baptism to take away original sin ; 
condemned auricular confession; and declared 
that the popes and councils had no authority 
to add any thing to the religion of Jesus Christ 
and his apostles, seeing that if Jesus Christ had 
wished his religion to be different from that 
which he taught, he would himself have de- 
livered it differently. Luther opened the way 
for a great revolution, and violent means were 
taken to oppose his proceedings. I will add 
no more," continued he ; "I only wished to 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 151 

mention the causes and the principal effects 
of the Reformation. Luther was not the founder 
of a new religion ; he only brought us back to 
the religion of Jesus Christ. God will regard 
all who adhere to the doctrines of his divine 
Son with equal favour, be they Catholics or 
Lutherans." 

The following anecdotes are illustrative of 
the paternal influence which Oberlin exercised 
over his flock, as well as of his readiness to 
assist those who differed from him in their 
religious tenets. A young woman of Schir- 
meck, of the Roman Catholic persuasion, had 
married a Protestant of Waldbach. This man 
had enemies ; he was, comparatively speak- 
ing, rich, and his fortune might possibly have 
some connection with the motives of their ani- 
mosity. The young woman became the mo- 
ther of a little girl, who, by mutual consent, 
and in pursuance of the marriage agreement, 
was to be brought up in the religion of the 
former, and baptized by the clergyman at Sehir- 
meck. To repair thither it was necessary to 
take the road over the mountains ; but at the 
moment of their setting off, they were informed 
that the enemies of the husband had laid a 
scheme to waylay them at a particular turn 
of the road, to spring out upon him when he 
reached it, and to compel him by menaces 
and ill treatment to consent to their unjust 
demands. 

. Their journey could not very well be de- 
layed, as the priest had been informed of 



152 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

their intended arrival ; and yet they were afraid 
to undertake it on account of the impending 
danger. In this painful dilemma they went to 
consult Oberlin. He, after exhorting them to 
place their trust in God, most kindly offered 
to accompany them, to render his aid and pro- 
tection should they require it. On arriving at 
a spot in the forest where there was reason to 
fear an ambuscade, Oberlin knelt down, and, 
extending his hands over the young people, 
exclaimed with a loud voice, " Great God ! 
thou seest wickedness lying in wait, and con- 
spiring mischief. Thou seest innocence in 
alarm. Almighty God ! avert the danger, or 
give thy children strength to surmount it." 

At this moment several men who had been 
concealed behind a thicket of beach trees, dis- 
covered themselves, and rushed forward, utter- 
ing the most threatening exclamations. Oberlin 
took the little infant in his arms, and advanced 
toward them with a calmness which did not 
conceal his indignation, yet still left room for 
the hope of pardon. " There," said he to them, 
" is the babe which has done you so much in- 
jury — which disturbs the peace of your days." 
Dismayed at the presence of their pastor, 
whom they little expected to meet in the cha- 
racter of an escort to persons going to perform 
a Roman Catholic ceremony, and finding from 
the few words which he had addressed to them 
that he was not ignorant of their bad designs, 
they did not attempt to dissimulate, but, con-, 
fessing their crime, begged pardon of the young 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 153 

man, and offered terms of reconciliation. Thus 
providentially rescued from the danger which 
had threatened them, the young people con- 
tinued their walk to Schirmeck, while Oberlin 
returned to Waldbach with the men whom he 
had thus prevented from doing evil. When 
they reached the entrance of the village, " My 
children," said he, as he left them, " remember 
the day on the mountains, if you wish that I 
should forget it." 

Another morning, (in the early part of his 
ministry,) as Oberlin was at work in his study, 
he heard a great noise in the village. Rushing 
out, he perceived a foreigner whom almost the 
whole population were loading with abusive 
and threatening language. " A Jew! a Jew!" 
resounded on all sides, as the good pastor 
forced his way through the crowd ; and it was 
with difficulty that he could obtain silence. As 
soon, however, as he could make himself 
heard, he rebuked them with great warmth 
for having proved themselves unworthy the 
name of Christians by treating the unfortu- 
nate stranger in so cruel a manner. He added, 
that if this poor man wanted the name of a 
Christian, they wanted the spirit of Christians. 
The same enlargement of mind distinguished 
Oberlin on all occasions. And whatever men 
might say, he still remembered the apostle's 
injunction, Gal. vi, 10, "Let us do good unto 
all men." 

I shall conclude this chapter respecting Ober- 
lin's private and ministerial character, with the 



154 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

following questions, which he addressed to his 
flock in writing, requiring from them satisfac- 
tory replies to each inquiry. They prove that his 
solicitude for their welfare descended to the 
smallest details, both with respect to their tem- 
poral and spiritual concerns, and that he neg- 
lected nothing to which he thought it his duty 
to call their attention. 

Questions addressed by Pastor Oberlin to his 
Parishioners. 

1. Do you, and your family, regularly attend 
places of religious instruction 1 

2. Do you never pass a Sunday without em- 
ploying yourself in some charitable work ? 

3. Do neither you, nor your wife or children, 
ever wander in the woods on a Sunday, in 
search of wild raspberries, strawberries, whor- 
tleberries, mulberries, or hazel-nuts, instead 
of going to church 1 — and, if you have erred in 
this manner, wi]l you solemnly promise to do 
so no more ? 

4. Are you careful to provide yourself with 
clean and suitable clothes for going to church 
in on the Sunday.* 

5. Do those who are provided with neces- 
sary clothes employ a regular part of their in- 
come to procure them for their destitute 

* During the first years of Oberlin's residence in the 
Ban de la Roche, the inhabitants were so miserably off 
for wearing apparel that they could only go to church by 
turns, being obliged to borrow each other's clothes in order 
to appear decently attired. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 155 

neighbours, or to relieve their other necessi- 
ties ? 

6. Have your civil and ecclesiastical over 
seers reason to be satisfied with your conduct, 
and that of the other members of your family? 

7. Do you so love and reverence our Lord 
and Saviour Jesus Christ, as to feel united in the 
bonds of Christian fellowship with that flock 
of which he is the Pastor 1 

8. Do the animals which belong to you 
cause no injury or inconvenience to others ?— 
(Guard against this, for it would be as fire in 
tow, and a source of mutual vexation.) 

9. Do you give your creditors reason to be 
satisfied with your honesty and punctuality? — 
or can they say of you that you are more desi- 
rous of purchasing superfluous clothes than of 
discharging your debts ? 

10. Have you paid all that is due this quar- 
ter to the churchwarden, schoolmaster, and 
shepherd ? . 

11. Do you punctually contribute your share 
toward the repairing of the roads !* 

*That Oberlin considered the repairing of roads as a 
religious duty incumbent upon all his parishioners, (since 
it conduced to the public good,) appears from the follow- 
ing curious and characteristic letter, which he addressed 
to them, November 9, 1804 : — 

" Road between Foudai and Zolbach. 

" Dear Friends of Foudai, — Several persons at Zol- 
bach have long been desirous that a certain road on your 
district, which runs toward Zolbach, should be mended 
and put into repair. 

" Such 3 measure would tend greatly to the advantage of 



156 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

12. Have you, in order to contribute to the 
general good, planted upon the common at least 
twice as many trees as there are heads in your 
family 1 

13. Have you planted them properly, or only 
as idle and ignorant people would do, to save 
themselves trouble ? 

14. When the magistrate wishes to assemble 
the commonalty, do you always assist him as 
far as lies in your power ? and, if it be impossi- 
ble for you to attend yourself, are you careful 
to inform him of your absence, and to assign a 
proper reason for it ? 

15. Do you send your children regularly to 
school 1 

16. Do you watch over them as God re- 
quires you should do ? And is your conduct 
toward them, as well as your wife's, such 

Foudai. But for whose sake will you do it 1 Will you do it 
from love to your heavenly Father, to whom you pray every 
day, and whom in the Lord's Prayer you call Father, and 
who requires you to prove your faith by your works 1 
Will you do it from love to the Lord Jesus Christ, who, 
during his stay upon earth, went about doing good, and 
who has redeemed us in order to make to himself a pecu- 
liar people, zealous of good works ? Will you do it from 
love to God's children who are at Zolbach 1 — you know 
that all the services which you render to the children of 
God, and the followers of Jesus Christ, God regards as 
done to himself. Will you do it from love to the servants 
of mammon who are at Zolbach, in order to set them a good 
example, and to win their affections by your kindness 1 — 
or, will you do it from compassion to the animals which 
your heavenly Father has created, and which he has him- 
self honoured by his covenant with Noah after the deluge 1 
Gen. ix, 9." 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 157 

as will ensure their affection, respect, and 
obedience ? 

17. Are you frugal in the use of wood? And 
do you contrive to make your fires in as econo- 
mical a manner as possible ? 

18. Do you keep a dog unless there be abso- 
lute necessity? 

19. Have you proper drains in your yard for 
carrying off the refuse water ? 

20. Are you, as well as your sons, acquaint- 
ed with some little handicraft work to employ 
your spare moments, instead of letting them 
pass away in idleness ? 

With regard to the purport of the fifth ques- 
tion, as Oberlin was most particular in devoting 
a certain share of his own income to the allevi- 
ation of the wants of others, and in accustom- 
ing himself to the strictest self-denial in order 
to increase his means of doing good, so he used 
his utmost endeavours to persuade others to 
imitate his example, and to avoid any super- 
fluity in their clothes or manner of living, that 
they might be the better able to assist their 
poorer neighbours. 

He addressed the following advice to the 
mothers in his parish, on observing that it was 
becoming a prevalent fashion among them to 
put cambric frills to their little boys' shirts — 
an extravagance which he deemed extremely 
reprehensible : — 

" Various mothers are, I observe, beginning 
to put frills of muslin or of cambric to their 



158 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

children's shirts. Do not do so, dear friends. 
Unpick them, cut them off, and seek not to 
increase the vanity of your children, which 
is already naturally too great. Cut off all the 
finery that does not correspond with your sta- 
tion in life, and employ yourselves in clothing 
the poor families of this extensive parish ; 
many of whom are in an extremely miserable 
condition. 

" Love your neighbours as yourselves. Re- 
nounce every superfluity, that you may be the 
better able to procure necessaries for those who 
are in want. Be their care-takers — their fathers 
and their mothers — for it is for this purpose 
that God has blessed you with more temporal 
wealth than he has done them. Be merciful. 
The time may come when you yourselves will 
stand in need of the mercy of God.'" 

The following note bears also the same im- 
port : its superscription is, 

" Swplus of Hay. 

" Waldbach, March 13, 1S03. 
" Dear Friends, — Is not this one of the two 
principal commandments — ' Thou shalt love thy 
neiohbour as thvself V Matt. xxii. 39. Is it not 
as much as to say, When thy cattle can spare 
a little of thy hay, supply those who stand in 
need ? But as thou canst not give to all who 
want, choose those who are in the greatest 
necessity and poverty, and from among them 
select such individuals as are most earnest in 
obeying the commandments of Jesus Christ, 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 359 

and in endeavouring to work out their salvation 
with fear and trembling. Say to thyself, * To 
such will I sell my hay/ and then let them have 
it at so low a price, that they may rejoice and 
bless God. 

" And afterward be careful to furnish them 
with the means of liberating themselves from 
the debt which they have incurred, as far as 
thou art able to do so. 

" Be the father of the poor, and God will be 
thy father. Remember that it is impossible to 
love God with thy whole heart, without loving 
thy neighbour also. 

" Tread not in the steps of others, but be 
thou a follower of the Lord Jesus Christ. Be 
the father of the poor. Choose those who fear 
God most. Make good speed about it, for per- 
haps thou wilt not be much longer in possession 
of terrestrial riches." 

The following little circulars, in allusion to 
the sixteenth question, addressed at different 
times by Oberlin to his parishioners, prove how 
constantly he endeavoured to instil into their 
minds the necessity of bringing up their children 
in habits of subordination, and under their own 
inspection : — 

"Waldbach, February 27, 1801. 

" Dear Friends, Fathers, and Mothers, 
— I have a request to make to you. You give 
shepherds to your sheep, to lead them into green 
pastures to feed, tend, and preserve them from 
danger, and you do well. 



160 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

" But have you no fears for your children ? 
Does not Satan go about to tempt them to do 
wrong? Then give them shepherds likewise, 
and never allow them to be left to their own 
devices. Let them work and amuse themselves 
under proper inspection and superintendence, 
but let this superintendence be wise, prudent, 
gentle, kind, and engaging ; and while it leads 
you to take part in their amusements, and to 
direct, animate, and enliven them, let it also 
restrain them within due bounds. Whatever it 
costs you, God will restore it a thousand fold." 

" May 29, 1803. 

" ' And the Lord said unto Cain, Where is 
Abel thy brother 1 And he said, I know not ; 
Am I my brother's keeper V Gen. iv, 9. The 
Lord said to Cain, ' Where is Abel thy brother V 
O, may these words resound continually in the 
ears of every parent, * Father, where is thy 
son V Fathers of Belmont ! Fathers of Belle- 
fosse, of Waldbach, of Foudai, and Zolbach! 
Father, where is thy son ? In what village ; in 
what house ; in what company 1 How is he 
employed ? It behooves you to be able to an- 
swer these inquiries by night and by day ; on 
Sundays and on working days ; wherever you 
are, and whatever you are doing. You are the 
guardians of your children ; and whether they 
are employed in work, or in relaxation and 
amusement, it is your duty to superintend and 
direct their amusements and pursuits. 

" Do it ; do it, henceforth, with faithfulness, 



MEMOIRS OF OBEitLIN. 161 

vigilance, and zeal; with earnest and secret 
prayer that God may pardon you for past un- 
faithfulness, and deliver your sons from the sin 
and danger into which your carelessness, and 
want of parental watchfulness, may have driven 
them. This is the desire of 

" Your papa and minister, 

" J. F. Oberlin." 



CHAPTER IX. 

Oberlin's pastoral visits — Interview between Dr. and 
Mrs. SteinkopfF and the governess of Bellefosse — Their 
visit to the cottage of Madeleine Kriiger ; also to that of 
Sophia Bernard — Letter written by Mrs. C. during a visit 
to the Ban de la Roche in the summer of 1820 — Letter 
from Mrs. Rauscher to the Paris Bible Society, containing 
an account of the death of Sophia Bernard, &c. — Amount 
of the sums raised at different times at Waldbach, in 
support of various charitable institutions. 

It was not in the pulpit alone that Oberlin 
sought to make known the truths of the gospel ; 
he was in the habit of paying pastoral visits to 
all the cottages in his parish ; of conversing 
with their inhabitants on the subjects connected 
with their eternal welfare, and upon the various 
plans adopted by benevolent individuals in dif- 
ferent parts of the world for the dissemination 
of religious knowledge. 

In the hope of advancing their moral and 
spiritual welfare, he kept a book in which he 
made private memoranda respecting their va- 
il 



162 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

rious states, a task for which the insight he 
obtained into their respective characters, during 
his frequent visits, peculiarly qualified him. 
Among other heads in the book were " Idlers" 
and " Bad Managers." The ten command- 
ments also furnished him with many distinct 
heads, under which he made remarks upon the 
state of his congregation, particularizing the 
conduct of such persons as he deemed repre- 
hensible, that he might be the better able to 
adapt his discourses to their edification. 

The affectionate manner in which he entered 
into familiar conversation with them upon such 
subjects as the diffusion of religious knowledge, 
the conversion of the heathen, and the exertions 
of God's devoted servants in bearing to others 
the "unsearchable riches of Christ," seldom 
failed to gain their attention, and to awaken in 
their hearts the warmest interest, while it had, 
at the same time, a most happy effect upon 
their manners, inducing, in some of the poor 
women particularly, a refinement and softness 
not often met with in persons of the same class, 
entirely free from pride, awkwardness, forward- 
ness, or rudeness. The following anecdote is 
a pleasing illustration of these remarks. 

During Dr. and Mrs. Steinkopff's visit to 
the Ban de la Roche, in 1820, they one day 
took a walk up the side of the mountain with 
Mr. Graff. The little path they were following 
led to Bellefosse, whither they were going to 
pay a visit to Madeleine Kriiger, one of the 
exemplary poor women of that village. Many 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 163 

peasants had bowed to them as they passed, 
with an air of courtesy, and the women had 
addressed them with " I have the honour of 
saluting you, madam," making at the same time 
a courtesy that would not have disgraced an 
English drawing-room. In the middle of a 
wood, through which the road led, they met 
a peasant, simply attired, with a pleasing, open 
countenance, and a basket at her back. " Ma- 
dam," said she, addressing Mrs. Steinkopff, " I 
have the honour of saluting you," and a most 
profound courtesy accompanied her words. 

" Good morning ! I am rejoiced to have met 
you, my dear Priscilla," said Mr. Graff, return- 
ing the salutation ; " I have the pleasure of in- 
troducing you to this lady and gentleman, from 
England. You are well acquainted with the 
name of the gentleman. He is Dr. Steinkopff, 
one of the secretaries of the Bible Society 
which has supplied us with so many Bibles." 
" O ! God be praised for it, my dear sir !" re- 
plied the peasant. " Yes, I am well acquainted 
with your name. I have read the reports which 
make mention of you. Is it possible," and she 
joined her hands together, "that I have the 
honour of seeing you here on earth ? Often, 
yes, often I think of the people of whom I read, 
and who have been brought to our dear Saviour 
through the means, through the generosity of 
that noble society. Ah, what reason have we 
to rejoice, who live in the abundance of spirit- 
ual blessings ; and how much should we wish 
to procure the same advantages for those who 



164 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

are destitute of them ! Yes ; we are very rich 
here, in this Ban de la Roche. O, that we may 
never be unfaithful to that light which God has 
been pleased to grant us ! I am truly delighted 
with all that I hear, and especially that I have 
the pleasure of seeing you. I recollect what 
our good pastor one day said at a funeral, when 
he saw a poor child weeping bitterly over its 
grandmother, whom they were going to bury : 
' My dear child, instead of weeping for your 
grandmamma, who is now no more, endeavour 
to live in a manner conformable to the will of 
God ; believe, dear, in your Saviour, and then, 
in his good time, you will meet her again in 
heaven, never more to be separated.' / also 
pray, sir, that it may please God to grant me 
grace to live the life of a Christian, that when 
I die, my spirit may join those pure and happy 
spirits who have done so much good upon 
earth." " The manners and expression of this 
interesting young woman," says Mrs. SteinkopfT, 
" were very superior ; for with all the animation 
and sprightliness of the French, much zeal and 
humility were conspicuous." 

" On reaching Bellefosse," continues the 
latter, " we visited the white-washed cottage 
of Madeleine Kriiger ; its neat painted case- 
ments and clean steps announced the comfort 
to be found within. We entered through a 
kitchen, with a well-furnished dresser and good 
oven. * Happily come,' said she, ' you do me 
too much honour. I am this moment returned, 
and I should be sorry not to have been here on 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 165 

your arrival ; my door is not yet unlocked ;' and 
as she spoke she reached the key and opened 
it into a very good room, at one end of which 
stood her bed with pretty blue cotton curtains, 
and on one side a long table with benches 
around it, all as white as wood could be made ; 
on the table lay a Moravian text-book open, 
in which she had been reading. While we 
were there, a tall, agreeable-looking man, with 
a slouched hat, and blue trousers and jacket, 
came in ; he was mayor and schoolmaster at 
the same time." 

They afterward proceeded to the neat, clean, 
and comfortable cottage of Sophia Bernard, at 
Foudai, with whom they were to take tea ; she 
met them at the door and showed them into a 
good-sized room, where, on a long deal table, 
almost as white as snow, were placed some 
beautiful flowers, and cups and saucers, cream 
and cakes, supplied by Mrs. Legrand, who, with 
her husband, sons, and daughters, drank tea 
with them. The cups and saucers were very 
handsome, being of white and yellow china, 
and had different German sentences upon them. 
Upon Mrs. SteinkopfT's cup this motto was in- 
scribed, " Pray for me, and I will pray for thee." 
Two benches were placed along the table, and 
Sophia stood behind to wait. She was, like 
many of the female peasants of the Steinthal, 
delicate in her appearance, with a mild and 
gentle countenance, and peculiar humility of 
deportment. She looked upon her guests with 
the greatest pleasure and satisfaction, listening 



166 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

to all that was said, and lifting up her hands in 
gratitude to God for what she heard concerning 
the extension of the Redeemer's kingdom on 
earth by the success of missionary and Bible 
societies. On the departure of her visiters she 
knelt down, and prayed very fervently for their 
protection. 

The following letter, written by Mrs. C. 
during her visit to the Ban de la Roche in the 
summer of 1820, describes the same serene, and 
also presents so lively and animated a picture 
of the venerable pastor and his family, that it 
cannot but be read with interest and delight. 

" Ban de la Roche, June 7, 1820. 
" My Dearest , 



My last letter from Strasburg was written in 
low spirits ; the sun has since shone upon us. 
We are now in a most uncommon and inte- 
resting spot — -every thing is novel, but the One 
Spirit which acknowledges the Father, and the 
Son, and the Holy Spirit, which is the same ; 
and delightful it is to feel it the same, among 
other nations and languages. It is confirming 
to faith to find the children of God in every 
place looking only to the same Saviour, and 
built upon the same foundation. 

" I wish I had power to convey to you an 
idea of our present interesting and curious 
situation. In the first place, I must introduce 
you to the room I am sitting in. It is perfectly 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 167 

unique. I should think the floor had never been 
really cleaned. It is filled with old boxes, and 
bottles, and pictures, and medicines, and books, 
but every thing is in its place. Two little beds 
are stuck up in each corner, and there are a 
few old chairs, &c. The window looks upon 
the tops of the mountains, near which we are, — 
separated from the world ; but this is a spot 
highly favoured, remarkably illuminated by the 
blessed light of the gospel. I must now tell 
you of our journey here, and arrival. 

" On Saturday morning, after an early break- 
fast, we left Strasburg. I was rather sorry to 
quit our comfortable hotel, where I began to 
feel tolerably settled, and the place, as a town, 
pleased me. We soon left the high road ; and 
as there were no more post-houses, we took a 
pair of horses to make our way as well as we 
could through the mountains. The roads were 
not quite so bad as I expected, yet their narrow- 
ness, and the steep precipice on one side, made 
me nervous. But we were charmed. by the 
interest and beauty of the scenery : — before we 
had gone far we found the valleys luxuriant in 
vines and fine trees ; a mountain river running 
through the valley, and presenting different 
views in every turn of the road. F. and I both 
thought we had never seen more exquisite horns 
scenery. The postilion lost his way, and led 
us up a delicious valley. Though we enjoyed 
the scenery, our situation was not very pleasant, 
and we were anxious to arrive early ; for we 
went perfect strangers, without any introduc- 



168 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

tion, or having given any warning, but we felt 
confidence in going among Christian people. 
Having reached the right road again, we en- 
tered the pass leading into the Ban de la 
Roche; it was exceedingly interesting; we 
were upon the famous road, dug out of the 
rock, made by Mr. Oberlin himself, and his 
parishioners, for before he came the place was 
almost inaccessible. 

" However good the roads were in compari- 
son, I could not be satisfied to stay in. the car- 
riage, so we walked on to a very romantic little 
village, where Mr. Legrand and his family live, 
intimate friends of Mr. Oberlin. I fear you have 
not seen the book he wrote about Mr. O. and 
this place ;* it gives great interest to it. It is 
really wonderful what he has effected. We 
inquired for their house. Mrs. Legrand was 
pointed out to us ; she had a fine open counte- 
nance, but was dressed in a far commoner 
manner than any of our maids, who would ap- 
pear like ladies in this place. The women 
here are a hundred years at least behind us in 
luxury and fashion, and outward appearance ; 
such simplicity I never saw. I will now intro- 
duce you to the Legrands, a most cheerful and 
happy family. Their house is complete in its 
way, and full of comfort for a foreign habitation. 
The father and mother, with their two sons, 
both married to sweet women, live together. 

* Letters to the Baron de Gerando, on the Agriculture 
of the Ban de la Roche, from which extracts have been 
given in this work. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 169 

They seemed beaming with goodness and hap- 
piness ; evidently most domestic, and I should 
trust religious people, devotedly attached to Mr. 
Oberlin, their friend and minister, for whose 
sake they settled in this place. 

" After this pleasant introduction to the Le- 
grands, we again set off for Mr. Oberlin's, a 
mile and a half further, (a romantic walk 
through the valley,) accompanied by Mr. Le- 
grand. On the way we met this most venera- 
ble and striking man — the perfect picture of 
what an old man and minister should be. He 
received us cordially, and we soon felt quite at 
ease with him. We all proceeded together 
toward his house, which stands on the top of 
a hill, surrounded by trees and cottages ; if we 
live to return you shall see my sketch of it.* 
Owing to the fatigue of our journey, I felt quite 
overdone on our first arrival. I could see no- 
thing like a mistress in the house ; but an old 
woman, called Louise, dressed in a long 
woollen jacket and black cotton cap, came to 
welcome us, and we afterward found that she 
is an important person at the Ban de la 
Roche ; she is mistress, housekeeper, intimate 
friend, maid of all work, schoolmistress, enter- 
tainer of guests, and, I should think, assistant 
minister, though we have not yet heard her in 
this capacity. Besides Louise, the son-in-law 
and daughter, and their six children, live here, 
two young girls, protegees, and two more maids 

* See the sketch of Oberlin's residence, frontispiece. 



170 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

out of the parish. Mr. Graff, the son-in-law ^ is 
a minister, and a very excellent man. There 
is much religion and simplicity both in him 
and his wife ; but the latter is so devoted to the 
children that we seldom see her. We were 
ushered into the dining-room, where stood the 
table, spread for supper ; a great bowl of pot- 
tage — a pewter plate and spoon for every body: 
— the luxury of a common English cottage is 
not known in the Ban de la Roche. But we 
see the fruits and feel the blessed effects of 
religion in its simplest form ; it is a great pri- 
vilege to be here, and I trust will be truly 
useful to us. 

" Tuesday. — We are become more acquainted 
with this extraordinary people. They are as 
interesting as they are uncommon. I much re- 
gret that I cannot speak the language more 
fluently ; yet I get on as well as I can, and 
have had a good deal of pleasing communica- 
tion with them. I only hope you will read 
Owen's letters, with the description of his visit 
on a Sunday to this place ; it will give you an 
interest in our present situation.* Also, in the 
Appendix of the First Bible Society Report, 
read Mr. Oberlin's letter.f I never knew so 
well what the grace of courtesy was till I saw 
this remarkable man. He treats the poorest 
people, and even the children, with an affec- 
tionate respect. For instance, his courtesy, 
kindness, and hospitality to our postilion — he 

* See p. 132. f See p. 96. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 171 

pulled off his hat when we met him, took him 
by the hand, and treated him with really tender 
consideration. He is, I think, more than eighty 
— one of the handsomest old men I ever re- 
member to have seen — still vigorous in mind 
and spirit — delighting in his parish — full of 
fervent charity. He has talked a great deal to 

F . The meals are really amusing : — we 

all sit down to the same table, maids and all, 
one great dish of pottage or boiled spinach, 
and a quantity of salad and potatoes, upon 
which they chiefly live, being placed in the 
middle. He shakes hands with all the little 
children as he passes them in the street, speak- 
ing particularly to each of them. The effect 
which such treatment has had in polishing these 
people, uncivilized and uncultivated as they 
formerly were, is quite wonderful. They have 
been taught a variety of things which have en- 
larged and refined their minds ; besides reli- 
gion — music, geography, drawing, botany, &c. 
My sketching has been quite a source of amuse- 
ment in the parish, and my sketch-book handed 
about from one poor person to another.* If 
you go into a cottage, they quite expect you 
will eat and drink with them ; a clean cloth 

* " As I was one day sketching upon the mountains, a 
group of poor peasant women attracted my attention, and 
I begged one of them to stand still for a few moments, that 
I might sketch her in the costume of her country. ' Ah ! 
madam,' she replied, smiling, 'you shall sketch me. I 
should like you to have a picture of me in your book, be- 
cause you will then be led to remember me, and perhaps 
to pray for me.' " 



172 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

is laid upon a table, washed almost as white 
as milk, and the new milk, and the great 
loaf of bread are brought out ; yet they are in 
reality exceedingly poor. Their beds also look 
exceedingly clean and good. Their dress is 
simple to the greatest degree. The women and 
girls all dress alike, even down to the very lit- 
tle children. They wear caps of dark cotton, 
with black riband, and the hair bound closely 
under. Every body — maids, children, poor and 
rich — call Mr. Oberlin their ' dear father,' and 
never was there a more complete father of a 
large family. We breakfast at seven ; the fa- 
mily upon potatoes boiled with milk and wa- 
ter — a little coffee is provided for us. We dine 
at twelve, and sup at half past seven. Every 
thing is in the most primitive style. I never 
met with such a disinterested people. It is 
almost impossible to pay them for any service 
they do for you. In our visits to the poor we 
have been afraid of offering them money ; but 
we feel anxious to throw in some assistance 
toward the many important objects which Mr. 
Oberlin is carrying on among them. It is 
almost past belief what he has done, and with 
very limited means. Three poor dear women 
are noted for their benevolence ; one espe- 
cially, who is a widow herself with several 
children, has undertaken to support and bring 
up three orphan children ; and she has lately 
taken another, from no other principle than 
abounding Christian charity. One seldom 
meets with such shining characters. Mr. O. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 173 

told Mr. C the other day he did not know 

how to pay Louise, for nothing hurt her so 
much as offering her money. No one could be 
more devoted to his service, and that in the 
most disinterested manner. Her character has 
impressed me very much. We had a delight- 
ful walk to church, about two miles distant, on 
Sunday morning; the numbers of poor, flocking 
from the distant villages, dressed in their sim- 
ple and neat costume, formed a striking object 
in the scene. It happened to be the Sunday 
Mr. O. goes to the next parish, where his son 
requires his assistance in giving prizes to the 
school children. 

" Wednesday evening. — The poor charm me. 
I never met with any like them ; so much 
spiritualty, humility, and cultivation of mind, 
with manners that would do honour to a 
court ; yet the homely dress and the simplicity 
of the peasant are not lost. The state of the 
schools, the children, and the poor in general, 
is quite extraordinary, and as much exceeds 
our parish as ours does the most neglected. 

" We have spent our time in the following 
manner : — Since Sunday the mornings have 
been very wet ; we have therefore been chiefly 
shut up in our own room, reading, writing, and 
drawing; the eldest of the Graffs, (Marie,) a 
sweet, girl, is a good deal with me, to read and 
to talk to me. The children and young people 
in the house are becoming fond of me ; our 
being here is quite a gayety and amusement to 
them. About three o'clock, Mr. Legrand comes 



174 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

for us, to take us on different excursions, &c. 
He seems to us one of the kindest persons we 
ever met with, full of conversation ; nothing 
can exceed the torrent of words they all have. 

The old gentleman delights in talking to F , 

and tells him every thing about himself, his 
family, his parishes, &c. Our room joins his 
library, and all the family are free to enter 
whenever they like. The whole system is most 
amusing, interesting, and useful. It is a capi- 
tal example, and instructive for the minister of 
a parish. There is a spirit of good fellowship 
and kindness among all the people that is quite 
delightful. The longer we have been here, the 
more we have been struck with the uncommon 
degree of virtue that exists among them. On 
Monday evening, after sketching Legrand's 
house, we were taken to the cottage of Sophie 
Bernard, where we found the table spread in 
the most complete manner for our tea, a luxury 
we had not enjoyed since we left England. 
Here we passed some time, eating, talking, 
and reading the Bible ; and it ended with 
prayer, by Sophie Bernard, in a sweet and 
feeling manner. We then had a charming walk 
through the valley home. Tuesday, in the after- 
noon, we ascended toward the very top of the 
mountains, to another of his villages, where Ave 
again found some delightful women, and a ca- 
pital school. This afternoon we have been 
drinking tea with the Legrands ; so comforta- 
ble and complete a house and family are rarely 
to be met with in any country. The three 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 175 

pairs have each the most complete little dwell- 
ing, but under the same roof. Our intercourse 
with them has been truly pleasant ; they have 
treated us with real Christian kindness. 

* TV TV TV TV 

TV TV TV TV TV 

" Colmar, Friday evening. — Our scene is 
again quite changed : — we are returned to the 
common world ; and I now find myself by a 
comfortable fire at a good hotel, which is quite 
a luxury after the primitive fare of the Ban de 
la Roche, where we found but little indulgence 
for the body, though we were treated with 
genuine hospitality. They live sadly in the 
clouds. The sun does not appear very often to 
shine upon them. I never was so struck with 
the difference of climate as I was to-day, in 
coming down into the plains. It poured with 
rain for the last day or two ; and all yesterday, 
in the mountains, every thing was soaked with 
wet ; but on entering the plains the dust began 
to fly. Delightful and uncommon as is this 
retreat, I must acknowledge we have rather 
enjoyed the comforts of the town, and the con- 
veniences of this place. It would be a trial to 
me to live surrounded and buried by mountains. 
I could not help rather feeling for Marie Graff, 
who is sensible of her privations. However, 
they are happy and contented, and highly 
blessed ; and it is a great privilege to have 
passed this time with them ; an event which 
must always be valuable through life. We 
parted from the excellent old man with many 



176 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

kisses, in the full spirit of Christian love ; and 
the same with the rest of the household. We 
left them very early, accompanied by many of 
the family, and proceeded to Foudai, where 
the Legrands live. Here we breakfasted, and 
separated with many tears on their part. They 
are a most warm-hearted people. We then 
proceeded over such a road as would astonish 
our Norfolk and Suffolk friends. However, I 
am thankful that we got through safely. I am 
getting more bold, and can bear the precipices 
much better than at first. We passed some 
beautiful country, but while on the heights, the 
rain and mist were so great we could not see 
much. 

" The thoughts of the Ban de la Roche, and 
the impression of this day, have been very 
pleasant to me, and I have a secret satisfaction 
and comfort in the prospect of getting to Basle, 
where I trust I shall have the great consola- 
tion of hearing from you." 



The following extract from a letter ad- 
dressed by Mrs. Rauscher to the Paris Bible 
Society, presents a delightful picture of the 
good effects resulting from the instructions and 
example of her beloved parent, and from an 
education founded on the Holy Scriptures. It 
also speaks of the death of Sophia Bernard, an 
event which happened in the spring of 1822, 
about two years after the visit alluded to in the 
preceding interesting letter. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 177 

This letter is dated March 14, 1826 : — 
" Our parish has now possessed the Holy 
Scriptures for more than a century, and they 
form the basis of daily instruction in the schools. 
In addition to this, the young people have long 
been in the habit of receiving religious instruc- 
tion from their pastor, so that a gradual and 
imperceptible improvement, resembling the 
growth of plants in a well- cultivated garden, 
has taken place. You may form some esti- 
mate of their moral progress, by the spirit of 
charity which manifests itself on occasion of 
the death of a poor father or mother leaving a 
numerous family ; and by the eagerness with 
which the relations, friends, or neighbours of 
the deceased, take charge of the children, not 
to treat them as strangers and dependants, but 
as members of their own household. These 
noble actions do not arise from any fixed me- 
thodical rules, nor are they confined to any par- 
ticular epoch ; but are owing to the instruc- 
tions of the good pastor, and to the excellent 
regulations which he has led his parishioners 
to adopt. 

" This delightful spirit of benevolence par- 
ticularly manifests itself also, in the eager ala- 
crity with which the young people assist the 
old and feeble in their rural labours. No sooner 
are their own tasks completed in the evening, 
than the signal is given, and they set off to exe- 
cute in concert some labour, which, by its cha- 
ritable object, becomes a recreation. Is a new 
cottage to be built — the young people take 

12 



178 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

upon themselves the task of collecting the ma- 
terials together, and of assisting in its erection. 
Does it happen that a poor man loses his cow — 
his only support — the whole parish subscribe 
and raise a sum sufficient to replace it. Is a 
poor man visited with a misfortune of any kind 
— he is not the only sufferer — for all his neigh- 
bours participate in his affliction, as the apos- 
tle says, ' If one member suffer, all the mem- 
bers suffer with it,' 1 Cor. xii, 26. 

" These admirable works are doubtless ef- 
fected by the influence of the Holy Spirit from 
on high, and by that spirit of Christian bene- 
volence which the attentive and constant pe- 
rusal of the Holy Scriptures cannot fail to 
inculcate. 

" I will just mention as a single instance, 
among many others, of the transforming power 
of religion, that one young woman refused to 
marry, that she might devote her time, her 
talents, and her strength, to works of benevo- 
lence ; and, allowing herself only the bare ne- 
cessaries of life, she presented the fruits of 
her assiduous and unremitting industry to the 
excellent and pious institutions of the present 
day : she also sold all that she thought she 
could do without, and gave the produce to 
such objects as she believed calculated to ad- 
vance the kingdom of our adorable Lord and 
Saviour. 

" The excellent Sophia Bernard, after whom 
you inquire, left her dwelling here below to 
inhabit a brighter mansion, about four years 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 179 

since, to the great regret of the whole parish, 
and of the inhabitants of the adjacent villages, 
who, though of a different religious denomina- 
tion, considered that they had lost in her a 
mother, consoler, and comforter. 

" Catherine Scheidecker and Maria Miller 
still live, though the former is very infirm.* 
They both continue to walk in the path of gos- 
pel truth ; endeavouring to follow the steps of 
their divine Master, and praying to him conti- 
nually for the salvation of their families, and 
that of all the inhabitants of their parish, as 
well as for every individual living. Both are 
poor in the wealth of this world, but rich in 
faith ; and they take every opportunity of evin- 
cing their gratitude to God, whose love is shed 
abroad in their hearts. 

" My venerable father sends you the saluta- 
tion of a friend and brother in Christ Jesus our 
Lord, and implores the blessing of Almighty 
God upon you, and the labours of your society. 
He longs for the joyful period, when, released 
from his narrow prison-house of clay, he may 
enter upon that happiness which is to be ac- 
quired only through the merits of the Son of 
God, whose name is 'Wonderful, Counsellor, 
the Prince of peace.' " 

I have already stated that it was the practice 
in the Ban de la Roche to meet on a particular 
evening, at stated periods, to read the Scrip- 

* She died in the autumn of 1826, and has doubtless 
received the " crown of life" promised to those who are 
" faithful unto death." 



180 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

tures and pray for the divine blessing on various 
religious institutions, and afterward to make a 
collection for them. The collections thus made 
consisted of voluntary contributions according 
to the abilities of the donor, and the sums that 
were sometimes raised are truly astonishing; 
two hundred and ninety francs having been at 
one time remitted to the Paris Bible Society, 
and, on another occasion, the sum of five hun- 
dred to the London Committee, in furtherance 
of the same object. 

The following extract is taken from a letter 
addressed by Mr. Daniel Legrand to Professor 
Kieffer. It is dated July 17, 1825. 

" As all that our venerable patriarch receives 
and possesses is only employed for the advance- 
ment of the kingdom of his divine Master, he 
has again remitted to me one hundred francs, 
desiring me to forward them to the Bible So- 
ciety at Paris. His Louise (the name of his 
faithful housekeeper) has added to it ten francs 
for the same purpose, and ten for the Missionary 
Society at Paris. She has a single field, and 
this is the amount of the rent. May the Lord 
put a peculiar blessing upon it !"* 

* The editor has the pleasure of stating that, since the 
first edition of this volume was published, Louisa Schepler 
has received one of the " Prix de Vertu" distributed an- 
nually by the Academie Francaise, in consequence of a 
bequest by M. de Monthyon. Nearly the whole of this 
sum, amounting to five thousand francs, she has, with her 
characteristic disinterestedness, appropriated to benevolent 
purposes, chiefly among the poor of the Ban de la Roche, 
who are still in extreme want. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN, 181 

It would be almost repetition to say that 
these contributions toward public institutions 
did not prevent the inhabitants of the Steinthal 
from appropriating large sums to charitable 
societies nearer home. Their beneficence was 
not, however, confined to their immediate vici- 
nity ; for the Foundation for Protestant Theo- 
logical Students at Strasburg, the Reformed 
Theological Society at Montauban, and parti- 
cularly the Protestant Institution for the Edu- 
cation of Poor Children of the Neuhof, near 
Strasburg, were indebted to Oberlin and his 
people for much efficient assistance. 

What can we add to facts so full of elo- 
quence ? While contemplating the rich bless- 
ings which Oberlin disseminated around him, 
and which the pervading influence of his exam- 
ple so greatly augmented, we can only earnestly 
hope that, the " centre" of Christian benevolence 
being once moved, "circle after circle" may 
succeed, and tenfold good be effected. 

" Blessed is the man that trusteth in the 
Lord, and whose hope the Lord is. For he 
shall be as a tree planted by the waters, and 
that spreadeth out her roots by the river, and 
shall not see when heat cometh, but her leaf 
shall be green ; and shall not be careful in the 
year of drought, neither shall cease from yield- 
ing fruit," Jer. xvii, 7, 8. 



182 MEMOIRS OF OBERXIX. 



CHAPTER X. 



Oberlin- s last illness and death — Let: e rresped in g Loui- 
sa Schepler found after his decease — His funeral — Prayer 
denVered upon that occasion — Fragment of an address to 
his parishioners — Conclusion. 

Toward the latter part of Oberlin's life, the 
infirmities of age precluded his discharging the 

greater part of his pastoral functions, and he 
was therefore compelled to delegate the charge 
to his son-in-law, Mr. Graff, being able to do 
little more than occupy himself in constant 
prayers for his beloved flock.* That no indi- 
vidual might be omitted in his intercessions at 
the throne of grace, he used in the morning to 
take his church register of baptisms in his hand, 
and to pray, at stated intervals, during the day, 
for every person whose name was there men- 
tioned, as well as for the community- at large. 
At all periods of his residence in the Ban de la 
Roche, Oberlin had a deep feeling of the value 
of intercessory prayer ; and so alive was he 
upon this point, and so fearful lest he should 
omit any one w T hom he particularly wished to 
remember, that he wrote the names of e 

* In consequence of an apoplectic attack. Mr. C 
was compelled to relinquish his pastoral duties in the Ban 
de la Roche soon after Oberlin's decease, and to remove, 
with his wife and children, to Strasburg, where he now 
resides. Mr. Rauscher is hi- wr, and occuy: 

parsonage house at Waldbach. Louisa Scheple: 
with him and his family. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 183 

persons in chalk upon the black door of his 
chamber. 

His strength had greatly diminished; his 
figure indeed was not bent, but symptoms of 
infirmity had made their appearance, and his 
white locks announced advancing age. He no 
longer left his home but from necessity, and 
devoted more time than formerly to the labours 
of his study. Several essays, on various sub- 
jects, found since his decease, appear to have 
been written at this period ; and a refutation of 
Cicero's work, " De Senectute," drawn up in 
1825, was probably the last he attempted. 

His last illness attacked him suddenly, and 
was of short duration. On Sunday, the twenty- 
eighth of May, 1826, he was seized with shiver- 
ings and faintings, which lasted till a late hour 
of the night. The whole of the two following 
days were passed in alternate consciousness 
and insensibility ; but he often exclaimed, when 
his strength permitted, " Lord Jesus, take me 
speedily! Nevertheless, thy will be done!" 
On the evening of Tuesday, Mr. Daniel Le- 
grand, who had been absent on a missionary 
excursion to Basle, came to see him. He 
appeared delighted at his return, and, tenderly 
embracing him, said in a distinct voice, and in 
an accent of paternal solicitude, " The Lord 
bless you, and all who are dear to you ! May 
he be with you day and night !" On the 
Wednesday he appeared considerably weak- 
ened by the convulsions he had undergone, 
and the want of nourishment, as a few drops 



184 KOmS OF OEERLIX, 

of water were all lie had been able to taste ; 
he however still intimated by sisrns. when he 
was unable to speak, the tender affection which 
he. felt for his children, his friends, his faithful 
housekeeper, Louisa, and all the members of 
Ms flock. 

During the night between Wednesday and 
Thursday, the first of June, which was a very 
distressing one to his attendants, he continue'd 
almost incessantly to utter plaintive cries, as 
though in pain, though at intervals of ease he 
would seize the hand of either of his children 
who happened to be nearest to him. and press 
it to his heart. When Air. Le grand arrived, at 
six o'clock in the morning, from Foudai. he 
had lost the use of his speech, and his arms 
and legs had become cold and lifeless. He. 
however, recovered strength sufficient to take 
off his cap. join his hands, and raise his eves 
for the last time toward heaven ; his counte- 
nance, as he did so. beaming with faith, jov. 
and love. 

After this effort his eyes closed, never again 
to open ; but it was not till a quarter after 
eleven that his spirit forsook its mortal tene- 
ment, and that the passing bell announced to 
the inhabitants of the valley that they had lost 
the pastor, benefactor, and friend, who for near- 
ly sixty years had so unceasingly laboured and 
prayed for them. 

It would be impossible to describe the srrief 
which his loss occasioned : sorrow was de- 
picted on every countenance : and not only in 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN, 185 

his own house, but in every cottage throughout 
his extensive parish, was his memory embalmed 
by the tears and regrets of those who had par- 
ticipated in his labours of love, or enjoyed the 
benefit which his unremitted kindness afforded. 
His care for those who had any peculiar 
claims on his affection extended even beyond 
the grave. He was particularly anxious to 
evince his gratitude to the excellent Louisa, 
who had faithfully served him during a period 
of fifty years ; and the following sealed letter, 
in which he speaks of her good qualities, and 
begs his children to treat her as a sister, was 
opened a few days after his death. It is dated 
Waldbach, August 2, 1811. 

" My Very Dear Children, — In leaving 
you, I commend to your care the faithful nurse 
who has brought you up — the indefatigable 
Louise. The services which she has per- 
formed for our family are innumerable. Your 
dear mamma took her under her care before 
she had attained the age of fifteen ; but, even 
at that early period, she rendered herself useful 
by her talents, her activity, and her industry. 
On the premature decease of your beloved 
parent, she became at once your faithful nurse, 
your careful instructress, and your adopted 
mother. Her zeal for doing good extended 
beyond the confines of our own family. Like 
a devoted servant of the Lord, she went into 
all the surrounding villages, where I sent her, 
to assemble the children together, to instruct 



186 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

them in God's holy will, to teach them to sing 
hymns, to direct their attention to the wonder- 
ful works of nature, to pray with them, and to 
communicate to them all the knowledge that 
she had herself derived from me and your 
mamma. This was not the labour of a mo- 
ment ; and the innumerable difficulties which 
opposed themselves to her benevolent employ- 
ments would have discouraged a thousand 
others ; for while, on the one hand, she had to 
contend with the wild and froward characters 
of the children, she had, on the other, to correct 
their dialect, and, consequently, after having 
spoken to them in that dialect, which was ne- 
cessary to make herself understood, to translate 
all she had said into French. The bad roads, 
and the inclement weather, so frequent on these 
mountains, presented another difficulty : but 
neither sleet, nor rain, nor wind, nor hail, nor 
deep snows under foot, nor snow falling from 
above, detained her from her purpose ; and 
when she returned in the evening, though 
exhausted, wet, and weary, and chilled with 
excessive cold, she would set herself to attend 
to my children, and to our household affairs. 
In this manner she devoted not only her time 
and abilities, but also her health, and all her 
bodily powers, to my service, and to the ser- 
vice of our God. For many years past, indeed, 
her lungs have been injured, and her constitu- 
tion absolutely ruined, by over fatigue, and by 
sudden transitions from heat to cold, and from 
cold to heat, having often, when warm with 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 187 

walking, crossed the snows and sunk into them 
to such a depth as to be scarcely able to get 
out. She received a sufficient recompense, 
you will perhaps say, in the ample salary that 
I allowed her. No, dear children, no : since 
the death of your dear mother, I have never 
been able to prevail on her to accept the least 
reward for her services ; she employed her own 
little property in doing good, and in the purchase 
of her scanty wardrobe ; and it was always as 
a favour that she received from me some slight 
articles of dress and provisions, which I owed, 
notwithstanding, to her economy and good ma- 
nagement. Judge, dear children, judge of the 
debt you have contracted, from her services to 
me, and how far you will ever be from repay- 
ing it. 

" In times of sickness and affliction, how 
kindly has she watched over both you and me ; 
how tenderly has she sought to mitigate our 
pains and to assuage our griefs ! Once more I 
commend her to you. You will evince, by the 
care that you take of her, how much attention 
you pay to the last wish of a father who has 
always endeavoured to inspire you with feel- 
ings of gratitude and benevolence : — but, yes ; 
yes ; — you will fulfil my wishes. You will be, 
in your turn, both individually and collectively, 
all that she has been to you, as far as your 
means, situation, and opportunity permit. Adieu, 
my very dear children. Your papa, 

« J. F. Oberlin." 



188 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

So well disposed were Oberlin's children to 
fulfil this request, and to coincide in their fa- 
ther's views, that they offered Louisa an equal 
share of the little property he had left. This, 
however, she refused, asking nothing more than 
permission to remain an inmate of the family, 
and to be allowed to add the honoured name of 
Oberlin to her own. " It is almost superfluous 
to say," writes one of his children, " that while 
a descendant of Oberlin's remains, Louise shall 
want for nothing, at least, until they themselves 
are destitute." 

Oberlin's funeral took place on the fifth of 
June. 

During the four days that intervened between 
his decease and the simple and affecting cere- 
mony which consigned his remains to their last 
home, heavy clouds rested on the surrounding 
mountains, and the rain poured down in inces- 
sant torrents : this circumstance did not, how- 
ever, prevent the inhabitants of the Ban de la 
Roche, of all ages and conditions, nearer or 
more remote, from coming to pay a last tribute 
of respect to the remains of their " dear father," 
whose venerable countenance they were per- 
mitted to see through a glass lid, which, under 
the direction of Mr. Legrand, covered the cof- 
fin, which was placed in his study. 

Early in the morning of the day fixed on for 
the interment, the clouds cleared away, and the 
sun shone with its wonted brilliancy. As they 
left the house, the president of the consistory 
of Barr, the Rev. Mr. Jaegle, placed the cleri- 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 189 

cal robes of the late pastor on his coffin, the 
vice-president placed his Bible upon it, and the 
mayor affixed to the funeral pall the decoration 
of the legion of honour. At the conclusion 
of this ceremony, ten or twelve young females, 
who had been standing around the bier, began 
to sing a hymn in chorus, and at two o'clock 
the procession took its departure, the coffin 
being borne by the mayors, elders, and official 
magistrates. In front of it walked the oldest 
inhabitant of the Ban de la Roche, carrying a 
cross, which Louisa had given him, to plant 
on the tomb, and on which the words Papa 
Oberlin were engraved in open letters. 

So numerous was the concourse of people 
assembled on the occasion, that the foremost 
of the train had already reached the church of 
Foudai, where the interment was to take place, 
before the last had left the parsonage, although 
the distance was nearly two miles. The chil- 
dren of the different schools formed part of the 
melancholy procession, chanting, at intervals, 
sacred hymns, selected and adapted for the oc- 
casion. At the moment of their approaching the 
village, a new bell, presented by Mr. Legrand 
in commemoration of this day of general mourn- 
ing, was heard to toll for the first time, and to 
mingle its melancholy sound with that of all the 
bells in the valley. The burying- ground was 
surrounded by Roman Catholic women, all 
dressed in mourning, and kneeling in silent 
prayer. On arriving at the church, the coffin 
was placed at the foot of the altar, and as many 



190 MEMOIRS OF OEERLIX. 

persons entered as the little edifice would con- 
tain, though more than three-fourths of the com- 
pany had to remain in the church-yard and the 
adjoining lanes. Notwithstanding the pressure 
of so immense a multitude, the utmost order 
and solemnity prevailed. Several females, who 
could rind room nowhere else, sat down on the 
steps of the altar, leaning" with melancholy af- 
fection against the coffin, as though anxious to 
dins to the very ashes of one whom they had 
so much revered and loved. Many distinguished 
individuals were present on the occasion,, and 
several Roman Catholic priests, dressed in their 
canonicals, took their seats among the members 
of the consistory, and evidently participated in 
the general grief. Mr. Jaegle then mounted 
the pulpit, and commenced the service by read- 
ing a manuscript of Oberlin's. dated 1*784* and 
found among his papers after his death. It is 
filled with so many expressions of ardent attach- 
ment, and earnest intercession for his beloved 
parishioners, that I cannot refrain from insert- 
ing it.* 

Fragment, written by Oberlin, in 17S4. 

" I was born at Strasburg on the last day of 
August. 1740. and baptized on the 1st of Sep- 
tember, in the church of St. Thomas. 

•' During my infancy and my youth. God 
often vouchsafed to touch my heart, and to 

* Tnis fragment baa been already alluded to, in a pre- 
ceding par: or" ihe Memoirs. 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 191 

draw me to himself. He bore with me in my 
repeated backslidings, with a kindness and in- 
dulgence hardly to be expressed. 

" I arrived in this parish, in the capacity of 
pastor, on the 30th of March, 1767, when 
twenty-seven years of age. 

" On the 6th of July, in the year following, 
God united me to that beloved woman, whom 
(after having received many services from her 
hand) you, six months ago, followed to the 
grave. Her name was Madeleine Salome 
Witter. I have had nine children. Two, who 
are yet living, were born in the Ban de la 
Roche; the others at Strasburg. Two have 
already entered paradise ; and seven remain in 
this world. On the 18th of January last, ten 
weeks after her last confinement, my wife, al- 
though in apparently good health, was suddenly 
taken from me. Upon this occasion, as upon a 
thousand others in the course of my life, not- 
withstanding my overwhelming affliction, I was 
upheld, by God's gracious assistance, in a re- 
markable manner. 

" I have had all my life a desire, occasion- 
ally a very strong one, to die, owing, in some 
degree, to the consciousness of my moral in- 
firmities, and of my frequent derelictions. My 
affection for my wife and children, and my 
attachment to my parish, have sometimes 
checked this desire, though for short intervals 
only. I had, about a year since, some pre- 
sentiment of my approaching end. I did not 
pay much attention to it at the time, but, since 



192 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

the death of my wife, I have frequently received 
unequivocal warnings of the same nature. Mil- 
lions of times have I besought God to enable 
me to surrender myself with entire and filial 
submission to his will, either to live or to die ; 
and to bring me into such a state of resignation 
as neither to wish, nor to say, nor to do, nor to 
undertake any thing, but what He, who only 
is wise and good, sees to be best. 

" Having had such frequent intimations of 
my approaching end, I have arranged all my 
affairs, as far as I am able, in order to prevent 
confusion after my death. For my dear chil- 
dren I fear nothing ; but, as I always greatly 
preferred being useful to others to giving them 
trouble, I suffer much from the idea that they 
may occasion sorrow or anxiety to the friends 
who take charge of them. May God abun- 
dantly reward them for it ! With regard to the 
children themselves, I have no anxiety, for I 
have had such frequent experience of the mercy 
of God toward myself, and place such full re- 
liance upon his goodness, his wisdom, and his 
love, as to render it impossible for me to be at 
all solicitous about them. Their mother was, 
at a very early age, deprived of her parents, but 
she was, notwithstanding, a better Christian 
than thousands who have enjoyed the advan- 
tage of parental instruction. 

" Besides this, I know that God hears our 
prayers ; and ever since the birth of our chil- 
dren, neither their mother nor I have ceased 
to supplicate him to make them faithful fol- 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 193 

lowers of Jesus Christ, and labourers in his 
vineyard. 

" And thou, O my dear parish ! neither will 
God forget nor forsake thee. He has toward 
thee, as I have often said, thoughts of peace 
and mercy. All things will go well with thee. 
Only cleave thou to him, and leave him to act. 
O ! may'st thou forget my name, and retain only 
that of Jesus Christ, whom I have proclaimed 
to thee. He is thy pastor ; I am but his ser- 
vant. He is that good Master, who, after having 
trained and prepared me from my youth, sent 
me to thee, that I might be useful. He alone 
is wise, good, almighty, and merciful ; and as 
for me, I am but a poor, feeble, wretched man. 

" O, my friends, pray, in order that you may 
all become the beloved sheep of his pasture. 
There is salvation in no other than Jesus 
Christ ; and Jesus loves you, seeks you, and 
is ready to receive you. Go to him, just as 
you are, with all your sins and all your infirmi- 
ties. He alone can deliver you from them, and 
can heal you. He will sanctify and perfect 
you. Dedicate yourselves to him. Whenever 
any of you die, may you die in him ; and may 
I meet you, and accompany you with songs of 
triumph, in the mansions of felicity, before the 
throne of the Lamb ! 

" Adieu, dear friends, adieu ! I have loved 
you much ; and even the severity which I have 
sometimes deemed it necessary to exercise has 
arisen from my earnest desire to contribute to 
your happiness. 

13 



194 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 

" May God reward you for your services, 
your good deeds, and the deference and sub- 
mission which you have shown toward his poor 
unworthy servant. May he forgive those who 
have pained me by opposition. They doubtless 
knew not what they did. 

" O, my God ! let thine eye watch over my 
dear parishioners ; let thine ear be open to hear 
them ; thine arm be extended to succour and 
protect them. Lord Jesus ! thou hast intrusted 
this parish to my care, feeble and miserable as 
I am. O, sutler me to commend it to thee ; to 
resign it into thy hands. Give it pastors after 
thine own heart. Never forsake it. Overrule 
all things for its good. Enlighten them, guide 
them, love them, bless them all ; and grant that 
the young and old, the teachers and the taught, 
pastors and parishioners, may all in due time 
meet together in thy paradise ! Even so ! Fa- 
ther, Son, and Holy Spirit !— even so, Amen !" 

After the solemn reading of this pathetic 
document, which was evidently intended for 
Oberlin's dying charge, Mr. Jaegle read the 
following verses from the 103d Psalm : — 

" Bless the Lord, O my soul : and all that 
is within me, bless his holy name. Bless the 
Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his bene- 
fits ; who forgiveth all thine iniquities ; who 
healeth all thy diseases ; who redeemeth thy 
life from destruction ; who crowneth thee with 
loving-kindness and tender mercies." And the 
14th verse of the 7th chapter of the book of 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIX. 195 

Revelation, which Oberlin had himself select- 
ed to serve as texts to the discourse to be pro- 
nounced at his funeral, conscious, as he often 
declared himself to be, that however numerous 
and useful the good works he had performed, 
they needed " to be washed in the blood of 
Christ." 

The Rev. Mr. Jaegle then delivered a dis- 
course, which was listened to with the pro- 
foundest attention. On its conclusion the whole 
congregation knelt down, and repeated the fol- 
lowing prayer : — 

" All powerful God ! Our days are in thy 
hands, and thou rulest our destinies with the 
most consummate wisdom. By thy will we 
enter into this life, and when thou ordainest, 
we return to dust. We render to thee our 
thanks for the sublime consolations which thou 
hast given us in the gospel of thy Son, who 
came to announce unto us life and immortality ; 
consolations without which we should be given 
up to despair, whenever those we loved were 
torn from us by death, or when he approached 
us with his terrors. 

" May the wisdom and the love of good which 
emanates from Thee, thou source of all good, 
accompany us in our pathway to eternity ; that 
we may pass the day, as thy obedient and sub- 
missive children, conscious of having followed 
thy commandments, and of having preferred the 
welfare of our souls to the deceitful riches and 
pleasures of earth. 

" O Lord our God ! thou hast taken to thy- 



196 MEMOIRS OF OBEHLIN. 

self our good pastor, our good father ; and thou 
hast given him a place in those eternal man- 
sions prepared for the just. O, that the memory 
of him may remain with us ! that the love of 
thee and of thy Son, with which he has endea- 
voured to inspire us, that the love of religion, 
(without which there is neither peace nor hope,) 
may never be effaced from our hearts ! So that 
when the sleep of death shall have closed our 
eyelids, we may meet him whose loss we now 
mourn in a better world, and rejoice with him 
in eternal life, to which thou hast called us by 
our Saviour Jesus Christ. Amen !" 

Another hymn having been sung, the coffin 
was conveyed to the church-yard, where the 
grave was dug on a little eminence on one 
side of the edifice, under the shade of a weep- 
ing willow, planted over the tomb of Henry 
Oberlin. 

The Rev. Mr. Braunwald, pastor of Gox- 
viller, and vice-president of the consistory of 
Barr, then delivered an appropriate address, 
in which he particularly enlarged on Oberlin's 
domestic virtues. M. Bedel, a physician of 
Schirmeck, then stepped forward among the 
crowd, and pronounced a short eulogy on the 
deceased ; and amid the tears of the assembled 
multitude, which formed, perhaps,- the most 
eloquent funeral oration, his remains were con- 
signed to the grave. 

In delineating the character of this extraor- 
dinary man, we have not, it is true, had to 
trace his steps, with those of the philanthropic 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 197 

How-ard, through the desolate regions of Russia, 
nor to witness his expiring sighs in the dreary- 
wilds of Tartary ; we have not had to follow 
him, with the pious and indefatigable Martyn, 
across the sunny plains of Persia, to commu- 
nicate the glad tidings of salvation to the be- 
nighted heathen, nor to see him, regardless of 
his own shattered health, sacrifice his life to 
the glory of Christ among the nations of the 
East : — Oberlin's sphere of usefulness was at 
home. But there, in the secluded recesses of 
his beloved Vosges, the benevolent ardour of 
Howard, and the self-denying zeal of Martyn, 
were eminently displayed. 

To get good from heaven, and to do good 
on earth, constituted, indeed, the sole aim of 
his life, and constrained the dedication of every 
talent, and the consecration of every power, to 
the service of his Lord and Master. Humility 
was intimately blended with his other Christian 
graces ; and, deeply conscious of his own in- 
ability to advance one step in holiness, or to 
induce others to follow him in his path Zion- 
ward, without divine assistance, he meekly 
depended on, and earnestly implored, the aid 
of God's Holy Spirit ; repeatedly uttering his 
favourite maxim, " Nothing without God." 

So far from being actuated by the hope of 
reward for any personal worthiness, he dis- 
claimed all merit of his own, and, firmly be- 
lieving in the divinity, rested entirely on the 
propitiation of Jesus. " All in Christ" was his 
constant motto, and constituted the moving 



198 MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 

principle of his exertions. "What," said he 
to a minister who visited him a short time be- 
fore his last illness, " did not our dear Saviour 
suffer for us 1 Nothing then is difficult when 
we do it for him. To him let us wholly devote 
ourselves." 

Through the all-sufficiency of that Saviour's 
atonement, he is now, undoubtedly, praising 
God in that kingdom of light and love, for 
which, while on earth, he so ardently longed ; 
and, having exchanged the graces of time for 
the glories of eternity, is joining in the triumph- 
ant song of the " ten thousand times ten thou- 
sand :" " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to 
receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and 
strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing.' , 
" Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, 
be unto Him that sitteth upon the throne, and 
unto the Lamb for ever and ever . 



MEMOIRS OF OBERLIN. 199 

LINES ON THE DEATH OF OBERLIN, 

PASTOR OF THE HIGH ALPS, 



The Ban de la Roche is enshrouded in gloom, 
For its much-beloved pastor is laid in the tomb ; 
The groves seem to droop, and in sadness to say — 
" Our crown and our glory are taken away." 

The rocks of sweet Walbeck respond to the swell, 
And loudly re-echo the last passing knell ; 
While the wild rolling torrents their murmurings blend 
With the wail of the flock for their shepherd and friend. 

Ah ! well may this heart-rending sorrow be found, 
And from valley to valley the cadence resound, 
The fold may well weep as they glance on his cot, 
And mournfully utter — -" Our pastor is not." 

His people no longer may hang on his word, 
No more in the Steinthall his voice will be heard : 
And its wooded seclusion is dreary and lone, 
Now its light is departed — its pastor is gone. 

The mourner was sooth'd by his accents of love, 
And directed to mansions of glory above ; 
But, alas ! who shall comfort the sorrowing fold, 
Who the face of their shepherd no more will behold. 



200 



MEMOIRS OF OBBRLIN. 



Yet, why should they wish the bless'd soul to delay, 
So happy to shake off its shackles of clay ; 
On pinions triumphant he joyfully soar'd, 
And abundantly enter'd the joy of his Lord. 

He has fought the good fight and his conflicts are o'er, 
And sin and temptation shall harass no more ! 
All sorrow and sighing have taken their flight, 
Exchanged for unbounded, unfading delight. 




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